


Live With What You Have (Book 1)

by BetaPrincess



Series: Tell Me A Story [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2019-07-20 14:12:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 55,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16138913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BetaPrincess/pseuds/BetaPrincess
Summary: When Merlin and Adrielle move to Camelot to live with their uncle, they never expected the chain of events that would soon follow. To discover that their magic is outlawed, save the prince and become his manservant, and someone seems to fall for someone way out of their league. What can these two twins do to keep their heads above the water and off of the chopping block? Book 1 out of eventual 5.





	1. Chapter 1

_The Dragon's Call: Part 1_

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Adrielle questioned from behind as her brother led the way through the forest.

"Of course I am. The way to Camelot is south of Ealdor. The path is clear.  _This_ path," he said motioning down to the trail that had been eroded over time.

"Just because we're on a path doesn't mean we're on the  _right_  path," she sighed shifting her bag on her shoulders.

"Have a little faith in me, would you? I know we're going the right way."

"You  _know_ ," she repeated, emphasizing that she knew exactly how he knew. A quick wordless understanding passed between them.

"Yes, I  _know_."

Adrielle and Merlin were different. Everyone says 'oh they're different', but this time it was true. Adrielle and Merlin were twins, born on the exact same day to the same mother. Merlin always liked to brag that he was the eldest child. To that extent their mother had branded him with being the older brother, which meant he had to look after and set examples for Adrielle. Like a good older brother should. It always seemed to be Merlin who was constantly getting into trouble and Adrielle who was in charge of reprimanding him.

"If my senses are correct at the top of this hill we should be able to see Camelot," Merlin announced.

"If we get to the top and all we see are more trees I'm going to laugh and probably punch you for leading us in the wrong direction." Merlin turned around to make a face at her before continuing on forward. He raced to the top of the hill eager to find out for sure if he had been right or not. Adrielle pulled the hem of her dress up higher allowing her to quickly trek up the hill.

As they reached the peak and peered over the land, a great white castle stood. Camelot. The two of them stood there and took in the sight together. They had never been to a large, bustling city before. Especially never Camelot. Their home of Ealdor was a small village in the country of Cenred's land. Not many in Ealdor had ever graced the presence of their king, but word was he wasn't the friendliest of sorts. A rugged and handsome man he was, but also quite cruel and ruthless. Cenred didn't bother much with the small outlying village of theirs, which everyone was pleased with.

"My apologies, Merl," Adrielle said as they stared. "It seems you were right."

"Does that mean I get to punch you now?" Merlin asked, half joking half serious.

"No," she responded bluntly. Being the older brother that he was, Merlin took his chance and punched her shoulder, a good hearted laugh leaving his lips. Adrielle didn't find him as amusing and made to tackle him. Merlin side stepped and watched her falter, realizing he'd unleashed her wrath as he took off down the hill towards the castle. She chased her brother most of the way to the city, goofy grins appearing on their faces as they raced. As they reached the lower town they slowed down their pace. It was a futile attempt, in Adrielle's opinion, to remain without any sort of reputation their first day in Camelot. The two siblings held onto each other as they walked, laughing and clutching their sides while gasping for air. Despite the fact that they were siblings and practically obligated to row with each other every now and then, Merlin and Adrielle were each other's best friends.

They looked every which way as they walked closer to the castle, trying to take in as much of the city as they could. Villagers bustled all around them maintaining their day to day business. Stalls lined the sides with goods and wonders available for purchase. Children weaved in and out of their legs, parents hurrying after trying to control them. Chickens squawked and pigs squealed from their pens. It definitely didn't smell like the country where they had come from. The air was more alive, bristling and humming with the excitement and liveliness of the villagers.

As they neared the castle, the sound of drumbeats distinguished themselves from the normal sounds of the bustling city. Horns sounded, calling the citizens to gather round for what was about to happen. Adrielle and Merlin looked at each other and hurried over to where the large crowd was gathering, careful to stick close to each other. In the center of the gathering was a block of eight guards placed strategically to create a barrier in front of the people. Two guards led a man into the center from the citadel and up to the block. He did not struggle as they pushed him to his knees; his eyes betrayed him though. They were plastered with fear.

Adrielle could feel her brother come to the same conclusion next to her: they were about to witness an execution. They'd never seen a proper execution like this before. There wasn't much need in Ealdor.

"Let this serve as a lesson to all," a great booming voice echoed from behind them. The crowd turned collectively to gaze at the man who was speaking. He stood up on a balcony with two knights flanking him. He was older than them, probably in their mother's generation. Definitely older than her, but all the same. He could easily pass as their father. He had grey peppered hair and an old aged face. A magnificent crown sat atop his head, ordaining him as King of Camelot.

"This man," he continued powerfully, "Thomas James Collins is judged guilty of conspiring with enchantments and magic. And pursuant with the laws of Camelot I, Uther Pendragon, have decreed that such practices are banned on penalty of death."

Adrielle gulped and tried to glance over at Merlin inconspicuously. That's another thing that separated Merlin and Adrielle from most others. They had magic. It was common knowledge that having and or practicing magic was something sort of a taboo. The two of them could move things with magic before they could even talk. It just sort of happened with them. When they were old enough to comprehend more, their mother told them that their gifts had to be kept a secret. It wasn't that they were monsters, but that some gifts are so special that they must be shared quietly. They thought that coming to Camelot was a fresh change, an escape from the mundane life in Ealdor. They had no idea that where they were going it was not only taboo to practice magic, but  _illegal._  On penalty of  _death_.

Merlin looked back at her, the same sense of dread creeping into his chest. The two looked back up as Uther continued. "I pride myself on being a fair and just king, but for the crime of sorcery there is only one sentence I can pass." He nodded to the two guards who had ushered the man called Thomas into the square. The crowd turned their attention back to the center as Thomas was push forward, his head coming to rest on the chopping block.

Adrielle found herself grabbing onto Merlin's upper arm and squeezing it, hoping to find some comfort and reassurance. Merlin wasn't usually the one she went to for protection necessarily, but they were all each other really had now. Especially when they were practically dead in the water everywhere they went in Camelot. If Uther or anyone else were to ever find out about them, who Adrielle and Merlin truly were, they'd be condemned to death without a second's hesitation. Even if they hadn't done anything inherently wrong.

The executioner stepped into position and slowly raised his axe in tandem with Uther's arm, waiting for the moment to strike. The drumbeats continued to beat their strange death march anthem. Uther brought his arm down and the execution struck. A collective gasp rang through the crowd; Adrielle had squeezed her brother's arm and looked away at the last possible moment, tightly shutting her eyes.

"When I came to this land," Uther continued, almost as if nothing had fazed him, "the kingdom was mired with chaos. With the people's help magic was driven from the realm. So I declare a festival to celebrate twenty years since the Great Dragon was captured and Camelot freed from the evils of sorcery. Let the celebrations begin."

Adrielle turned to Merlin, unsure of what to say or what exactly was going on. She usually always had some words to say no matter what the given circumstance. Although it seemed this was a brand new and disconcerting encounter for both of the twins.

The people and their king started to turn and leave the gruesome sight that was Thomas's beheading when a heartbreaking wail pierced the air. The crowd remained where they were and focused their attention on the source of the wails, an elderly woman with grey stringy hair. Her brown robes were tattered and frayed and her eyes were filled to the brim with agony and anger. If looks could kill the king would be dead within a second under her forceful gaze.

"There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic," she wailed. Even the king had been forced to stop and stare at her as she berated him. "It is you! With your hatred and your ignorance. You took my son. But I promise you, before these celebrations are over you will share my tears. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A son for a son."

At that King Uther reeled back and ordered his guards forward. "Seize her!" he shouted. The woman pulled a necklace out, a strange stone on a string, and held onto it as she incanted a spell. A wisp of air burst forth and engulfed the woman before the guards could reach her. When the powerful wind had stopped she was nowhere to be seen.

The king turned and left without another word, his knights following suit. The rest of the people who had gathered turned to one another and began to resume their business, chattering about the execution and the witch who had been in their midst; threatening the king and his son.

Adrielle turned to Merlin again worriedly. He placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her to the direction they had been going earlier.

"What are we doing here?" she asked quickly, trying to conceal her fright and uncertainty.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean why are we here? Why has mother sentenced us to a place where we could be killed just for breathing? Just because we are who we are?"

"I don't know, Adrielle, you're the smart one. You tell me," Merlin retorted.

"I don't know, alright! That's why I'm asking you!" Her voice began to rise higher than that of the average townsperson. A few curious glances were sent their way, but nothing more was thought of this country girl's outburst.

"Keep your voice down," Merlin chastised. Whenever it was completely unnecessary and out of place, Merlin's 'big brother' attitude would push through. That she was a young and foolish girl who should listen to her wise and older brother.  _Pfft. Wise and older my arse,_  Adrielle thought. "Don't get your knickers in a twist."

"Look, I'm sorry, Merlin," she retracted, her voice dying down again. "I'm just a little nervous and a little bit scared right now. Why are we here?"

"I told you, I don't know. I'm sure mother wouldn't have sent us here if she didn't have a good reason. Something more than just letting us stretch our legs out on our own. Have a little faith, will you?"

"I do. Although I'm not too sure when you became the wise and composed sibling and I...well whatever you usually are," Adrielle said, a faint smile quirking her lips. "Who are we suppose to be looking for again?"

"Er...Gaius," Merlin said, looking over the letter their mother had given them. It explained all her fears and doubts about them staying in Ealdor. What she wished Gaius to know about her dear twins.

"Do we even know what he looks like or where he might be?"

"No. She says he's our uncle but the two of us haven't ever met him."

"Oh brilliant," she said with a roll of her eyes. "So we're looking for a man we've never met before, who has never met either of us, we don't know where in the city he lives, and we only know his name?"

"And that he's Court Physician," Merlin added helplessly.

"Well I guess that's helps  _a little_."

Merlin might have been content enough to just wander around the castle until they hopefully bumped into whoever Gaius was or their 'magic' senses came in and 'magically' told them where he was. Adrielle sighed and playfully slapped the back of his head; it seemed the roles had been reversed again back to their proper places. She took the initiative and casually strolled up to a guard. Careful not to accidentally scream that she was a witch, and get herself and her brother dragged away to the dungeons, she asked where they could find Gaius, the Court Physician. He pointed them through a door and up a set of stairs. She flashed a polite smile and turned back to her brother, ushering him to follow.

"Now, was asking for directions  _really_  that hard?" she poked playfully. "I just saved us a lot of time."

"Or we could have just followed that sign," Merlin said, pointing to a place along the stairs. Adrielle followed his finger to a sign that said 'Court Physician' with an arrow pointing the same direction the guard had. Adrielle huffed and turned back to face her brother.

"It could have been hours before we found that sign on our own." Merlin put up his hands in mock surrender. The two of them continued towards their destination quietly. At the end of the hall they found a door that was cracked open slightly. Merlin made to walk in until Adrielle's arm snapped up in front of him, halting him.

"What?" he asked confused.

"We can't just go barging in. That's rude, what if he's indecent?" she said sternly. Merlin nodded his head muttering 'oh, right', as he did. He knocked on the door quickly as he walked right on inside.  _Well at least he knocked_ , Adrielle thought.

"Gaius?" Merlin called. "Hello?"

"Maybe he's not here," Adrielle suggested as she looked around the room. It was quite an interesting room. She'd probably think that everything she saw in Camelot would be considered 'quite interesting' or new to her until she got use to things. There were a few tables scattered around the room, a small cot off to the right side, and another table she supposed was an examination table. It was the only table without...things on it. The tables were littered with books and papers, different scientific and medical instruments, jars and glasses filled to the brim with different ingredients. Herbs and foliage were also strung up and shoved into cups, anywhere room could be found but also where they could be easily accessible in an emergency.

"Perhaps he's indecent somewhere else," Merlin called back smarmily.

"Gaius?" Adrielle called out. Merlin strolled around the room and looked up to see an older man standing in front of a bookshelf on an upper level.

"Gaius!" Merlin called again, clearing his throat this time. Gaius started to turn to inspect who was in his chambers when the railing that he had been leaning on snapped. Adrielle reacted without even meaning to. Her breath hitched as she watched the old man start to fall to the Earth.  _Stop!_  Her mind screamed at him. Her eyes flashed from blue to gold and back again. It seemed that time around Gaius had slowed down. He was still falling, but it would take him some time to fall completely to the ground. Even then it probably wouldn't hurt him at all.

Merlin turned to look at her.  _What did you do?_  his face said. She shrugged, not knowing exactly what she had done. Merlin turned his attention to the cot nearby. His eyes flashed gold, just as hers had, and in an instant the bed moved from its original position across the room and under to where Gaius would inevitably hit. Time sped up again and Gaius came falling back to the ground, landing with a softer thud on his bed.

"What did you just do?" Gaius ordered as he quickly stood up.

The two twins stammered almost in unison, trying to find words to explain or even cover up what they had just done.

"Tell me!"

"Uh nothing, that was nothing...uh...that was...it was him," Adrielle said, finally blaming Merlin and pointing up at him. It was her fail safe, last resort tactic. When in doubt, blame Merlin. It had a fairly decent success rate. Usually it actually  _was_  Merlin's fault or it was extremely plausible that it could have been his fault.

Merlin looked at his sister annoyed before speaking again. "That wasn't me and that wasn't her either. That was neither of us. Nothing happened."

"If anyone had seen that-" Gaius continued, looking around the room to make sure no one had actually seen it.

"Oh no, no. That wasn't us. I don't know what that was but it was most definitely not us," Adrielle continued.

"I know what it was," Gaius spoke. "I just want to know where you learned to do it."

"Nowhere," the two said together.

"So how is it you know magic?" Gaius asked.

"I don't. We don't," they said, still speaking as one.

"Where did you study?" Gaius really wasn't going to take no for an answer, was he? "Answer me!"

"I-I haven't," Merlin answered by himself this time. "Neither of us have. We've never studied magic."

"Are you lying to me boy?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"The truth!"

"We were born like this," Adrielle chimed in.

"That's impossible," Gaius continued, refusing to believe these two young people, children still, had in fact been born with magic. He seemed to let it go for a moment, speaking again when another thought had popped into his mind. "Who are you two?"

They looked at each other before answering. "Oh, we uhm...we have a letter. Merlin get the letter," Adrielle said while touching his arm. He struggled with his bag for a second and dug inside of it before handing the letter over to Gaius.

"I don't have my glasses," he said, waving around the letter seeing it was useless to him now.

"I'm Merlin and this is my sister Adrielle," he said, introducing the two of them.

"Hunith's twins?" he asked surprised, finally getting to the reason they were actually here. "You're not meant to be here until Wednesday."

"It...it is Wednesday," Adrielle supplied, her brows furrowing.

"Ah...right then," Gaius said slowly. "Well the two of you better put your things in there." He motioned to a few steps that led up to a small door. The twins nodded and began moving towards their personal chambers, when Merlin suddenly turned around.

"You won't...er...you won't mention anything about uhm..." he nodded towards the broken railings and the cot.

"No, but Merlin," Gaius called as the two turned back around, "I should say thank you. To the both of you." The two nodded sheepishly before making their way back up to their rooms.

Behind the door was a small room. It looked like its initial purpose had been to be a bedroom, perhaps for only one person but certainly not two. Squished on either side by the walls were two identical cots. Crates and other boxes were stacked up in various places. A small desk and a chair had been set up between the two beds. On the wall by the door a small mirror hung. On the other side of the door stood a small cabinet, able to hold their clothes and small items they had brought with them.

The two twins quickly claimed their beds, Merlin to the right and Adrielle to the left, and sat their things down. They were grateful to have a proper chance to rest. Not just to rest but to be inside on a piece of furniture and not stopped out in the middle of the woods. The sun had since started setting. Adrielle was quick to light a few candles before they were plunged into total darkness.

"Look there," Merlin said, pointing to a window that hung just above Adrielle's bed. Faint sounds of the dying city could be heard as the two approached the window and slowly opened it. The window looked out over a part of the city. From their perch they could perfectly see patches of the castle, the citadel, and the lower town stretching out below them. Lights flicked from houses creating the illusion that they were looking out over stars.

"This is so cool," Adrielle breathed, as her and her brother leaned against the ledge and took in Camelot at night.

As the brother and sister pair got settled and accustomed to their new living arrangement, Gaius sat himself down at one of his many tables. He placed his reading glasses onto his face and read over the words his dear sister-in-law had written.

_My dear Gaius, I turn to you for I feel lost and alone and don't know who to trust. It is every mother's fate to think her child is special, yet I would give my life to think that Merlin and Adrielle were not so. Ours is a small village and they are so clearly at odds with people here that if they were to remain I fear what would become of them. They each need a hand to hold and not each other's. A voice to guide them. Someone that might help them find a purpose for their gifts. I beg you, if you understand a mother's love for her son and daughter, keep them safe. And may God save all of you. Hunith_.

Gaius lowered his glasses and folded up the letter, turning to gaze at the room where Adrielle and Merlin now slept.

Adrielle woke slowly the next morning. It was comforting and welcoming to find herself waking up in a proper bed. Blankets covering her with the right amount of warmth and a couple of pillows under her head. For a split second, she almost thought they were back home in Ealdor. That her mother would be coming in any moment, kissing Adrielle's head softly and calling for Merlin to wake, and when he didn't Adrielle would take to throwing a pillow at his lazy form. A soft and motherly smile would grace Hunith's lips before leaving the two of them.

Adrielle smiled sadly, the thought of her mother causing her heart to contract uncomfortably. She looked over to her brother's bed and found him still soundly asleep. She considered assaulting him with a pillow; waking him up for old time's sake. She decided against it, letting him sleep peacefully. There would be enough time for them to pick on each other while reminiscing on their past.

She pulled on her dress and moved to the small mirror. Her dark, black hair hung loosely around her face, curling at the tips which reached just barely past her shoulders. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame the beast and make herself look presentable. Her pale purple dress was just a size too big, causing it to hang unceremoniously from her body. She reached for a light brown cord and tied it around her waist, giving her dress and form a more feminine look. She smiled, her light pink lips twitching slightly.

She met her eyes in the mirror and checked herself over again. She had to admit, her dark blue eyes were quite stunning. They complimented her pale heart shaped face nicely; even her high and prominent cheek bones. She laughed to herself as she remarked how much resemblance her and Merlin shared. They were twins after all. He had the same colour hair, same blue eyes, and same sharp cheekbones.

She smiled to her reflection, seeming pleased with its appearance, and headed down to the main part of their chambers. Gaius was standing over one of his tables, preparing what she assumed as breakfast. He looked up as he noticed her presence and smiled kindly at her.

"Good morning, Adrielle," Gaius said, returning his attention back to their porridge. He dished out two bowls worth of food and set them both down at the table.

"Good morning, Gaius," she said cheerfully taking her seat across from Gaius.

"Sleep well?" he asked conversationally as they started their meal. She nodded in response. He nodded towards a bowl that sat at the edge of the table. "It seems your brother forgot to wash last night. How old are the two of you now anyways?"

"Eighteen. The both of us," she replied taking another bite of her food. Gaius nodded, returning to his food. She didn't notice as his hand came up and slowly pushed on a pot until it started to topple over the edge. Adrielle noticed it falling and quickly reacted, causing it to freeze in midair. She looked over at Gaius surprised before the magic wore off, causing the pot to smash to the floor and shatter.

"How did you do that?" he questioned. He wasn't as heated as he was last night. This morning he seemed more curious. "Did you incant a spell in your mind?"

"I don't know any spells," she offered honestly.

"So what did you do? There must be something."

"It just sort of...happens. We get caught off guard or something surprises us and these things just...happen." The pair looked from each other to the pot shards and back. Adrielle jumped up and began clear the debris.

"We? You mean your brother can do the same?" Gaius continued. She nodded as she returned to her breakfast, hopeful to avoid anymore interrogations. Gaius looked at her before returning to his meal.

Within minutes, Merlin had stirred from his sleep and came walking downstairs. Gaius served him breakfast and took the seat across from Adrielle, who was now finished eating. Gaius pulled the same stunt with Merlin as he did Adrielle, eager to see if they really could both to magic. This time Merlin froze the bucket of water for a moment before it too came crashing to the ground. Merlin hurried up and mopped up the mess.

"Looks like I'm going to have a time trying to keep you two out of trouble," Gaius said.

"Usually that's just my job," Adrielle said with a small smirk.

"I'm sure he needs all the looking after he can get," Gaius said, chuckling lightly. He came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "But now you have someone to look after you, too. You can both help me out until I find some paid work for the two of you." He moved to one of his work stations grabbing a poultice and a small flask for them.

"Here. Hollyhock and feverfew for Lady Percival and this," he said touching the flask, "is for Sir Olwen. He's as blind as a weevil so warn him not to take it all at once. Oh, and if you two don't mind taking this to Tom the blacksmith." He handed them the three items and pulled out a sandwich for Merlin to eat on the go. He gave Adrielle clear directions to each of the three patients and sent them on their way.

"Oh and one more thing," he called as they reached the door. "I need hardly tell you the practice of any form of enchantments will get you killed."

"Got it," Merlin said waving with his sandwich.

"I was speaking to Adrielle," Gaius said with a quirk of his eyebrows. "She seems to be the more responsible one out of you two. Now off you go." The two siblings shared a sly smile before they ventured off into the castle. They chattered casually as they walked through the castle, Merlin munching happily on his morning sandwich. They found their first room, Sir Olwin, fairly easily with Gaius's directions and knocked swiftly on the door.

Adrielle never expected the man who opened the door to be the Sir Olwin they were looking for. She could definitely tell that he was blind. His eyes were practically sealed together. It also looked like he was missing his teeth all together.

"Hello," Adrielle spoke up before Merlin had the chance to annoy anybody. He didn't necessarily look at them, but sort of moved his head towards where they were. Or where he thought they ought to be standing. "Uhm...we're assisting Gaius this morning. We brought you your medicine." He held out his hand to take the bottle except his hand was about a foot off. Adrielle took his hand in hers and moved it over to where her other hand was. He smiled a sort of toothless smile and accepted the bottle. He popped the cork off and began to take it without another word.

"Oh Gaius said not to drink it all at once," Merlin chimed in, but it was too late. He was already sucking down the entire thing. Merlin and Adrielle looked at each other, unsure what would happen after he took the potion all at once. "I'm sure it's fine."

The pair took off quickly. They rounded a corner and traded awkward faces before bursting into laughs.

"Let's hope we don't hear about that later," Merlin laughed.

"Oh God, Gaius will probably turn us in himself he'll be so cross," Adrielle joked. "Here why don't you go give that to Lady Percival and I'll go see Tom. We can get done sooner and have more time to explore, tour this place." He nodded at her suggestion and started to take off in Lady Percival's direction when Adrielle's hand suddenly clasped onto his jacket.

"Merlin, don't go getting into any trouble on your first day here. Or there  _will_  be hell to pay, got it?" He gave her a sheepish look before heading off on his own, not actually responding to her sternness. She watched him walk away before she turned and headed off to the blacksmith.

She smiled politely to people she passed. Throughout the castle servants were busy preparing for the Lady Helen's arrival and feast that would be held two days time in honor of twenty years without magic. Adrielle wasn't sure how she should feel about it. The entire kingdom as celebrating and rejoicing the fact that people like her and her brother were dead and abolished from Camelot. It made her feel like she was at odds against the world. She wondered, and shuttered at the thought, of what anyone like her could have done to make the use of magic so feared. So misunderstood.

She sighed and tried to push those kinds of thoughts from her mind. Her mother always advised her that she ought not to worry about things that were out of her control. She rounded a corner and up to the house of the blacksmith, firmly knocking three times. A young woman, maybe a year or two older than her, opened the door. She was a few inches shorter than Adrielle. She had creamy brown eyes and dark curly hair that hung to her shoulders. Her dark skin was complimented nicely by her coral dress.

"You're not the blacksmith," Adrielle said suddenly. "Unless you are. Not saying that you can't be. I didn't mean to be rude; you might very well be the blacksmith. I just didn't expect you to be a girl and you look confused so I'm going to stop talking now. Sorry."

The girl in question let out a breathy laugh before speaking. "I'm his daughter, Guinevere, although most people just call me Gwen. He's not here right now. Is there something I can help you with?" she asked politely. Her voice was soft and kind.

"Uhm I'm assisting Gaius today and he asked me to bring this for your father," she said while handing over the little bag.

"Oh thank you, I'll make sure he gets it. I wasn't aware Gaius had any assistants."

"Well it's only temporary. My brother and I just moved here and we're living with Gaius, he's our uncle," Adrielle explained.

"Oh, well then, welcome to Camelot," Gwen said with a smile. Adrielle hadn't formally met anybody in Camelot yet. It was nice to be shown some sense of welcome and hospitality, even if it was from this young woman. "I'd love to stay and chat but I really must be off. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid, you see."

"Well don't let me keep you waiting," Adrielle said with a smile, stepping out of the doorway. "It was nice meeting you, Gwen. Hopefully we'll see each other again soon."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too..." she started, pausing when she realized she hadn't gotten her name.

"Oh, Adrielle." she supplied, offering her hand.

"Well, Adrielle," Gwen said while taking her hand and shaking it, "until next time."

She said her goodbyes to Gwen and made her way back to Gaius' chambers. Merlin was surely done with his task by now. Unless, of course, he'd gotten himself into trouble already.  _Oh, come on,_  Adrielle sighed to herself.  _You should have a little more faith in your dear brother._ Adrielle decided to take her time getting back and explore the castle a little

Adrielle took a little walk through the nearby forest before she returned to Gaius's chambers, which she supposed were  _her_  chambers now. She was surprised to see only Gaius sitting there. She'd been out for hours. Where could Merlin be?

"Ah, Adrielle. Glad to see you're not in over your head," Gaius said.

"What do you mean?"

"Your brother. Got himself into a bit of trouble,"

"Already?" Adrielle sighed. "What has he done? Where is he?"

"He's in the dungeons."

" _Dungeons?!_ " Her brother was  _so_  dead when she got a hold of him.

"He insulted the king's son. Arthur."

"Why is he  _such_  a clotpole? Merlin, that is."

"That is a mystery you may never be able to answer. I've been able to pull a few strings to get him out, but he'll have to stay the night there tonight," Gaius said handing her a plate of food.

"He's definitely going to be a handful."


	2. Chapter 2

_The Dragon's Call: Part 2_

The next morning, as soon as the two of them woke, Adrielle and Gaius headed off to the dungeons to rescue her idiotic brother. When they came upon the cell he was in, Merlin had his head to the ground as if he were listening for something.

" _Merlin_!" Gaius called sternly as the door opened.

"You had one job, Merlin,  _one job_! Stay out of trouble!" Adrielle exclaimed.

"You  _never_  cease to amaze me! The one thing someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do? You behave like an idiot!" Gaius continued.

"I'm sorry," Merlin apologized, eyes on the ground.

"Well you're lucky. I've pulled a few strings to get you released." Merlin smiled and excitedly began to thank Gaius.

"I wouldn't get too excited just yet," Adrielle said with a faint, knowing smile.

"There is a small price to pay," Gaius admitted. Merlin frowned, staring at the two. "Come on then."

Merlin began to follow Gaius and the guards out, when Adrielle suddenly pulled him into a quick hug.

"What was that for?" Merlin questioned.

"I'm glad you're not dead. I don't know what I'd do. Besides, I figured I should do that now before..." she started. Merlin said nothing, but stared at her uncertainly.

The catch for getting Merlin out of his jail cell wasn't all that much better. He was subjected a couple of hours in the stocks, being pelted with rotten fruit and vegetables by the villagers. She shouldn't be laughing at him, she really shouldn't. He was her brother and she should stand beside him. But as a rotten tomato came flying at his head, his body tensing as he waited for impact, she couldn't help but laugh.

This was an opportunity that she, as a younger sister, couldn't pass up. She took a rotten apple from someone in the crowd and hurled it at his head. Merlin looked up just as Adrielle's apple came flying at him, hitting him square between his eyes. He shrunk away and looked back up, wanting to see who threw the well aimed fruit at him.

" _Adrielle!_ " He whined when he realized it had been his own sister. She laughed beside herself and withdrew from the crowd, making sure to stay out of the line of fire.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, but really. This is an opportunity I couldn't pass." The villagers had run out of ammo and scurried off to collect more. Merlin looked over at her, glaring as he did.

"Oh, come on. It's all fun and games. You know you would have done the same thing had it been me in the stocks," she said with a short laugh, ruffling his hair.

"Adrielle," a soft voice said from the other side of Merlin. The two looked over and laid their eyes upon Gwen's kind figure. Gwen introduced herself to Merlin, much like she had yesterday to Adrielle.

"Merlin," he said offering his hand to Gwen. "Although most people call me idiot."

"I most certainly do," Adrielle said with a chuckle.

"No, no. No I saw what you did. It was so brave," Gwen gushed sympathetically.

"It was stupid," he sighed.

"Well I'm glad you walked away. You weren't going to beat him," Gwen continued.

Merlin chuckled under his breath, muttering defiantly that he could've beaten him.

"You think? Because you don't look like one of these big muscley fellows."

Merlin frowned, muttering a defeated, "Thanks."

"No, no I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just Arthur's one of these real rough, tough, save the world kind of men. Well...you don't look like that," Gwen added. Merlin looked around like he had a secret to tell. Gwen leaned in, eager to what he had to say. Adrielle knew he was stupid, but he wouldn't dare, would he?

"I'm in disguise," he whispered. Adrielle snorted, happy to know her brother wasn't a  _complete_  idiot. An idiot, yes, but he was just flirting. Gwen smiled and laughed.

"Well, it's great you stood up to him. Arthur's a bully and everyone thought you were a real hero," Gwen said with a smile. Adrielle watched as these two smiled at each other, smirking beside herself. The crowd of villagers boisterously returned, baskets filled to the brim with more rotten food

"Oh, excuse me, ladies. My fans await me," Merlin said. The two girls nodded and Adrielle took Gwen by her shoulder as she hurried to the other side with her.

"Have fun, Merlin," Adrielle sang as the two girls headed back into the castle. The two laughed together at Merlin's unfortunate situation.

"Well that's my brother," Adrielle said, still sing song like.

" _That's_  your brother? Merlin?" Gwen asked surprised, like she couldn't believe it.

"Yes. Who did you think he was?"

"Well I just- I dunno. I guess I thought the two of you were sort of...together," Gwen said embarrassed.

" _What?!_  No, no! He's a great guy and I love him but he's my brother," Adrielle choked. "It's a lot easier to tell we look alike when he's not bent over and covered in rotten food."

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have insinuated something like that. You must think me a fool," she said bashfully, hiding her face in her hands.

"No, it's fine, Gwen. It's an honest mistake. I mistook you for the blacksmith and you mistook my brother for my husband. We're even now," Adrielle said placing her hands on the girl's shoulders. The older girl peeked out from between her fingers, smiling faintly.

"I'm still utterly embarrassed," Gwen said before taking off with a smile. Adrielle turned to make her way back to Gaius's chambers.  _Her_  chambers. She couldn't seem to get use to that. She would in time, she figured. Gaius had asked her to assist him some more with his potions and remedies; after she was finished tormenting her brother, of course.

Adrielle admired how nicely the decorations were coming along as she walked through the halls of the castle. Just because the celebration was ultimately for her death and persecution didn't mean she couldn't admire the decorations. She noted a boy across the hall coming at her from the opposite direction. She supposed he wasn't really a boy. He looked older. A good two years older. He was tall with sandy blonde hair. His red tunic hung comfortably from his frame. He wore brown trousers and brown boots, with a brown belt hanging loosely from his hips.

She looked ahead of her, peeling her eyes away from this boy.  _Man_ , she supposed he was. She realized she'd been looking him over carefully. She risked the embarrassment of being caught and took her chance, looking back over at the man.

Their eyes met by pure chance. His eyes were blue, much like her own, but a much lighter blue. His eyes reflected all the light they took in, shimmering like the sea. Adrielle felt heat creeping up her neck into her cheeks. She'd been caught, red handed, checking out this man. He smiled mischievously, possibly knowing  _exactly_  why she had been looking at him and why she was blushing so heavily now. He nodded to her as he passed, standing up straighter as he did. Her girlish behavior only boosted his ego. She cursed herself under her breath, turning her head to watch him as he walked away.

There was a flash. Something had passed between the two as their eyes had met. It had been so sudden that two involved nearly missed it. They caught it again as they both looked back at each other, eyes meeting once more. Adrielle turned around quickly morbidly embarrassed that she'd been caught  _twice_. She hurried back to her chambers so she could, hopefully, fall into her bed and disappear. She had originally hoped she'd see this man again; she still did. She just hoped the embarrassing moment wouldn't come back to haunt her anytime soon. Or ever, in fact.

The man in question turned back around, questioning the encounter. He suddenly felt drawn to this young woman. He didn't know why. He could tell by her appearance and the state of her dress that she was nothing more than a commoner. Noblemen were known to consort with commoner women, seeking out to fulfill their most basic, primal instincts, but nothing more. Yet he felt like there should be more between him and her. He couldn't explain it. He wasn't sure if he  _should_ explain it. He pushed the encounter and the girl from his mind, focusing his eyes forward.

Merlin came stumbling an hour later, covered in juices and bits of rotten food. Adrielle threw a sarcastic insult at him and he, of course, retaliated but hugging her tightly with all his rotten foodness. Adrielle screamed and started trying to rid herself of Merlin the leech, but he just gripped tighter. Gaius sent them a stern look, much like their mother would have.

"Merlin, I'll draw you a bath but please leave your sister alone," Gaius said, seeming to already take on the parental role for these two young sorcerers. "If you keep it up she'll smell worse than you."

Gaius had their meal ready for them once Merlin was finished washing.

"Want some vegetables with that?" Gaius asked cheekily, holding up a bowl to Merlin. Merlin laughed in return, a sheepish smile on his face.

"I know you're still angry with me."

"Your mother asked me to look after you two," Gaius replied while taking a seat across from the twins. "What did your mother say to you two about your gifts?"

"That we were special," Adrielle answered, looking over at her simple yet lovable brother.

"You are special; the both of you. The likes of which I've never seen before."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"Well magic requires incantations, spells, years to study. What I saw you two do was elemental, instinctive."

"What's the point if it can't be used?" Merlin sighed.

"That I do not know. You two are a question that's never been posed before," Gaius offered. The two twins looked at each other questioning everything themselves.

"Did you ever study magic, Gaius?" Adrielle asked a quizzical look in her eyes. Gaius looked from Merlin to Adrielle quietly, pondering how to best answer her. He took a moment or two to collect himself and his proper thoughts before answering.

"Uther banned all such work twenty years ago, before the two of you were even born," Gaius said, not directly answering Adrielle's question.

"Why?" Merlin asked, setting down his spoon almost eagerly.

"People used magic for the wrong reasons back then. It threw the natural balance into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons."

"What, all of them?" Adrielle asked, horrified. The stories of dragons had always been her favorite. She nearly demanded all their bedtime stories be about dragons when she and Merlin were little. They seemed so majestic, so regal. Sure they were dangerous, but didn't the most exciting things come with a little bit of danger?

"There was one dragon he chose not to kill," Gaius continued, "kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave deep beneath the castle where no one could free it."

Adrielle looked from Gaius to Merlin, then off to the side. So far what she'd seen and heard about King Uther she didn't like. He killed those with magic without a second glance and wiped all traces of it from his kingdom. Sure, she knew magic could be a force of evil. Their mother had warned them about it. No matter how much someone had egged them on, they were never allowed to use magic to harm someone; to kill.

Adrielle had always seen the beauty to magic. The earth seemed to hum around her with life. The trees swayed more freely and the waters glistened brighter. The wind whispered sweet nothings in her ears and the flowers smelled sweeter. She found the beauty of nature within her magic.

Gaius's voice brought her back to reality and her lunch that was set before her.

"When you two are finished I'll need you to take this preparation to Lady Helen. She needs it for her voice." The two twins nodded and their meal resumed in silence.

When the two were ready to set off Gaius handed the potion to Adrielle. "Adrielle," he said. "Make sure he doesn't get himself into any trouble." She nodded before turning to push Merlin out of the room.

Lady Helen's chambers were across the hall on the middle level of chambers. Her chambers were the most beautiful Adrielle had ever seen. Coming from a simple farm town neither of them had ever had the privilege of seeing such extravagant chambers. She could only guess what chambers Lady Morgana or the prince had. She couldn't even fathom Uther's chambers.

The two walked in slowly, realizing nobody was in here. Merlin continued deeper into the room.

"Let's just leave it on the table and leave," Adrielle began as she turned to leave. She noticed Merlin continue to look around, making no effort to leave.

"Merlin, c'mon. We shouldn't snoop," Adrielle continue. The sweet scent of vanilla and cinnamon candles wafted into her nose, seductively drawing her in. She turned back around feeling the impulse to snoop.  _A quick look around couldn't hurt_. There were so many beautiful clothes and trinkets draped over nearly every inch of the room. The most exquisite flowers rested in a fine vase.

She looked over to make sure Merlin wasn't causing a ruckus. He had set the potion down and was now messing with a doll in his hands. It was a strange doll made out of straw.

"What on earth," Adrielle muttered while eyeing over the rest of the items on the table. She noticed a small leather bound book hiding under a silk cloth.  _Now why would someone be hiding this book?_  She asked herself. She knew  _why_. It was something private; something secret. Something the average person should  _not_  have their eyes on.  _But I'm no average person, now am I?_

Adrielle tenderly picked up the book and stared at it. Intricate and detailed designs were etched into its cover. Adrielle's fingers began tracing symbols and pictures.

"What is that?" Merlin asked, setting the doll down and peering over her shoulder. Odd pieces of paper and cloth were shoved in between the pages. She turned it over in her hands studying the clasp that held the covers together. Her hands started to fumble with the clasp when the sounds of footsteps echoed through her ears. She glanced back at the door quickly and threw the book back on the table, covering it back up just as Lady Helen came walking in.

She stared at the two intruders cautiously. "What are you doing in my bedchambers?" she asked, authority spewing from her lips. Adrielle seemed to have lost her voice under the Lady's accusations. Lady Helen was a beautiful woman. Her dark hair hung in luscious waves.

"Uh- uhm," Merlin stumbled. The Lady Helen caught the sight of something behind them and stared at it anxiously. Adrielle began to turn to look at whatever it was, when Merlin continued to speak, drawing her back. He picked up the small vial and handed it to her. "Oh I was asked to deliver this by the Court Physician."

She took the potion gingerly looking quickly from Merlin to Adrielle. She forced an awkward smile trying to play the whole ordeal off. Adrielle smiled and grabbed onto Merlin's jacket, pulling him out of the room behind her.

The two did not speak to each other until they were far enough away from Lady Helen's chambers.

"See, even when I'm following you around you  _still_ seem to get into trouble,"Adrielle huffed.

"What? Me?  _You're_  the one who started messing around with that book. Why do you think she has all that stuff anyways?" Merlin asked, changing topic from snooping.

"I don't know. I'm not a royal am I? I don't know what kind of weird things they fancy," she answered. "Okay, so maybe the two of us together aren't much better at keeping out of trouble. Maybe a walk through the woods will help. I found some really cool spots the other day."

The twins made their way quietly from the castle, careful to keep their curious and eager minds from further trouble. As they walked through the lower town, Adrielle noticed a flash of blonde hair a ways ahead of her. She followed it down to the body of the boy she saw only hours earlier. He still wore his red tunic but had metal gauntlets on and a piece of armor on his chest.

Oh great, he must be a knight of some sort. A warrior. She turned her eyes down quickly, not wanting to meet his gaze; again. She had been embarrassed enough from their initial encounter, but to know that she had embarrassed herself in front of a knight? Her heart dropped suddenly, the thought that nothing could ever come between them. Not like it mattered. Adrielle had only looked at him. Twice, admittedly. He could be a total jerk, worth none of her affection.

"How's your knee walking coming along?" she heard his voice ask after they had passed. She stopped suddenly and turned to Merlin.

"How many friends have you made, Merlin?" she asked sarcastically. Merlin put his arm on his sister's shoulder and turned her back around, guiding her onward.

"Oh, don't run away," the boy playfully mocked. Merlin stopped, his hand clenching into Adrielle's shoulder.

"From you?" Merlin finally called back.

"Oh thank God. I thought you were deaf as well as dumb," the boy said in response. Only she and Gaius were allowed to call Merlin dumb. Adrielle turned around to face this man. She knew she should drag Merlin away but she couldn't.

"Look, I told you you were an arse. I just didn't realize you were a royal one," Merlin retorted, turning around to face him as well.

Adrielle looked from her brother to the blonde. A  _royal_  one? The puzzle pieces suddenly started to come together. God, how could she have been so  _stupid_? The boy she had seen earlier in the corridor, the same one that stood before her now, that was Arthur.  _Prince_ Arthur. The same one Merlin had stood up to. She couldn't begin to believe that she had risked a double take at this man. This  _prince_! That she had blushed an embarrassingly deep shade of red in front of him. Of course he had been use to that sort of reaction. He was a prince and an extremely good looking one as well

 _No! Stop it, Adrielle!_  She chastised herself.  _You can't keep giving him the satisfaction of blushing whenever you see him and admitting he's_ cute.

"Oh, what are you going to do? Got your daddy's men to protect you?" Adrielle had to give it to Merlin; he did know how to stand up to somebody. Regardless if he were a prince or not. He knew how to handle somebody. Despite the fact that he was the one who had picked on Adrielle the majority of the time, he had been there to defend her when she needed it.

"I could take you apart with one blow," Arthur chuckled.

"I could take you apart with less than that," Merlin said defiantly back.

"You sure?" Arthur said, continuing to mock him. She looked at Merlin, knowing what his next few movements would be.

"Merlin, don't," she said warningly. He stood still, mentally debating what to do. He disregarded his sister and took of his coat throwing it into her arms. Arthur and his men laughed.

"Here you go, big man," Arthur joked as he threw a mace at Merlin.

"Merlin. Seriously. You're going to get yourself killed or thrown back into jail. Let's just go," Adrielle continued, trying to drag him away. He shook off her grasp and picked up his mace.

"You should listen to your wife,  _Mer_ lin," Arthur said.

" _Sister_ ," Adrielle spat back.

"Oh, this one's got a pair of claws, too," Arthur said sarcastically. "I don't know which thought was more disturbing. That this idiot could marry a girl of your good looks or that you're both blood related."

Adrielle rolled her eyes. Typical behavior for a stuck up  _prince_.

"Please,  _sire_ , you're embarrassing yourself," Adrielle snapped back. Arthur's cocky smiled faltered momentarily. This brother and sister pair, Merlin and whoever she was (he realized he had yet to learn her name), were something else. Most people respected him; whether it was because he deserved it or because of his title, he didn't bother to care. Even if they didn't they never,  _never_ , spoke up to him like these two had.

"I warn you," Arthur said once he regained his regal composure. "I've been training to kill since birth." He wanted to intimidate this boy. Show these two who was the alpha. He swung his mace around expertly.

"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" Merlin mocked. Arthur faltered again.

"You can't address me like that," he scoffed at the boy.

"I'm sorry. How long have you been training to be a prat,  _my lord_?" Merlin mocked again, pretending to bow slightly. Adrielle had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, but she couldn't keep the cheeky grin away from her lips. Arthur pretended to laugh and suddenly took his first swing with his mace. Merlin and Adrielle ducked to avoid the mace from bashing into their skulls. The better side of her knew she should pull her brother away from the fight now, but if she did that it would look cowardly. The one thing Adrielle had vowed  _never_  to do was appear cowardly. Merlin had stepped up and egged Arthur on into this fight. He needed to fight back.

She side stepped out of the invisible arena that Arthur and Merlin had created, but followed closely to the two as they moved. Their fight was made up mostly of Arthur's skilled advances on Merlin. Merlin was able to clumsily avoid the prince's blows. Although he didn't do too well at making himself look good. He managed to stumble a lot and get his mace stuck every now and then. Merlin dodged a blow but was thrown backwards off balance. He tumbled over a fruit stand and landed clumsily on the ground.

"You're in trouble now," Arthur teased, having an open chance at Merlin. Adrielle looked around quickly. She couldn't let Merlin get pulverized when there was a chance she could help. She noticed a pair of sickles, hooked swords, dangling from a stand directly behind Arthur. She quickly looked at the two weapons and moved the two so they formed a full circle. Her eyes flashed gold and the items moved at her will. Arthur's mace wrapped around the two catching him off guard. Merlin looked around suddenly before catching Adrielle's eye. She winked and nodded her head, telling him to get up while Arthur was indisposed. Merlin jumped back up ready to fight as Arthur continued to advance on him.

Hey, if Adrielle was allowed to use magic to help his odds, he could too, right? Merlin noticed a box off to the side, slightly in front of where Arthur was about to step. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the box slid out in front of his path discretely. Arthur took his next step stepping into the box, causing the lip to come back and smack him in the shin.

Arthur paused, briefly overcome by the pain shooting up his leg. Adrielle snorted under her breath, smirking at her brother's handy work. Quite a large group had formed around the two as they fought. Arthur regained himself and swung again at Merlin, a new fiery anger filling him. Merlin ducked and hid behind a cart, looking for something else to 'help' him. He spotted a pile of rope and moved it so it strung out tightly in front of Arthur. He tripped over it, just as Merlin had hoped, and landed on a sack ungracefully.

Merlin sprang up and started swinging his mace around like he was some sort of expert. "Do you want to give up?" he barked.

"To  _you_?" Arthur shouted incredulously.

" _Do you_?" he repeated. Arthur stepped back and stumbled over a set of baskets. Adrielle laughed hysterically, but stopped suddenly when Gaius's stern and disapproving face appeared next to her.  _Oh, shit._

Merlin looked around victoriously. It seemed that he had the upper hand and had actually beaten this smarmy prince. He looked around for his sisters face. When he spotted her he saw her looking at the ground guiltily and Gaius standing next to her staring at him hard.

Arthur jumped up and took his chance, beating Merlin to the ground with a few hits of a broom. Adrielle pushed her way up through the crowd as two guards began to pick Merlin up, more than likely about to dump him into the dungeons  _again_.

"Wait," Arthur ordered, waving the guards off. "Let him go. He may be an idiot but he's a brave one." Adrielle looked at the prince, slightly bewildered. She didn't take him as someone who would let things go so easily. Especially an incident like this. A foolish, young, insolent boy who openly mocked and challenged the prince, and disrespected him. She looked him over carefully, as if she could decipher his personality from the outside.

"There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it," Arthur muttered, whether to Merlin or himself, before moving on. He stopped when he came to the raven haired girl he'd seen earlier in the corridors. For some reason he couldn't believe she was the same girl. She had seemed so innocent, so bashful back then. Now she looked like she wanted to bash his skull in with a mace herself. He looked her over, trying to mentally decipher how much she was actually like her brother.

"You might want to keep a better eye on your brother there-" he started, pausing in hopes of catching her name.

"Adrielle."

He was surprised. He hadn't expected such an eloquent and graceful name to belong to someone like her. She seemed gutsy, like her brother, and had a blatant disregard for the rules of society. There was something about her, too, Arthur noted mentally. He'd have to keep his eyes on this pair of siblings.

"Well, Adrielle. Until I catch your eyes again," he said before taking off. Adrielle brushed off the embarrassment she felt after being called out by  _Prince_  Arthur and rushed back over to Merlin's side and helped him to his feet. Gaius rushed over and nearly grabbed the two by the scruff of their necks and dragged them back to their chambers.

" _How could you be so foolish?_ " Gaius hollered at the two once they were in the privacy of their chambers.

"He needed to be taught a lesson," Merlin answered stiffly.

"Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not for idiotic pranks! I thought you were suppose to keep him out of trouble,  _not egg him on and solidify him getting into trouble_!" Gaius continued, aiming his newest attack at Adrielle.

"What is there to master? We could move objects like that before we could talk!" Merlin countered.

"Well by now you should know how to control yourselves."

"I don't  _want_  to! If I can't use magic then what have I got? I'm just a nobody. We're nobody's, Adrielle, and we always will be. If I can't use magic...I might as well die."

Merlin turned around dramatically and stormed up to their chambers. Adrielle sighed, the mood of the room suddenly turning sour. Gaius grabbed his medicine bag and followed the girl up the room. When they entered, Merlin was lying dejectedly on his bed. Adrielle brought a stool over and sat in front of her brother's bed.

"Merlin," Gaius said calmly, "sit up and take off your shirt. I'll need to clean your wounds." Merlin sighed heavily before sitting up, groaning a few times as he did. He pulled off his shirt carefully before turning to Gaius.

"You don't know why we were born like this, do you?"

Gaius paused before dabbing the damp cloth onto his cuts. "No."

"I'm not a monster, am I?" Merlin said, feigning humor.

"Don't ever think that," Gaius said honestly.

"Merlin, whatever we are, I don't believe we're monsters," Adrielle said softly, taking her brother's hand in hers.

"Then why are we like this? Please, I need to know why," Merlin said almost frantically, looking from his sister to Gaius.

"Maybe there's someone with more knowledge with me," Gaius spoke. Merlin sighed hard, displeased with the answer.

"If you can't tell me no one can," Merlin said bitterly, staring off into the distance. Gaius looked at the young boy before returning his attention to his medicine bag. He rummaged around a few seconds before handing Merlin a small glass.

"Here. It'll help with the pain."

Merlin pulled his hand from his sister's grasp, taking the glass from Gaius. He gulped it down in an instant before handing the glass back over. Gaius patted Merlin's leg comfortingly before departing.

Adrielle, again, wasn't sure to say to her brother to comfort him. All she could offer was a quick hug, careful of his cuts, and a reassuring squeeze of his hands.


	3. Chapter 3

_The Dragon's Call: Part 3_

Merlin heard it again. It happened when he and Adrielle had lied down to sleep. A distant calling of his name. He hadn't told Adrielle or Gaius about it. He had heard it first the night he spent in the dungeons. He thought he had just been going crazy, but here it was again. This time not only did it call for him, it also called for his sister.

_Adrielle_.  _Adrielle._

A soft but commanding voice called to her in her dreams.

"Merlin," she groaned as she rolled over in bed. "Shut up and go back to sleep."

Merlin looked over at her curiously "What?"

"Stop talking to me. I'm trying to sleep," she mumbled.

"I'm not doing anything," he said as he quickly got out of bed.

"Then what  _are_  you doing?"

"You're hearing a voice call your name and I'm hearing one call mine. I'm going to investigate," Merlin whispered suddenly.

"What, no! No you can't," she said suddenly snapping awake. "Remember the talk we had earlier about  _not_  getting into trouble. Sneaking out in the middle of the night goes completely against that."

"I'm going and you can't stop me. You'll just have to come with me if you want to keep me out of trouble," Merlin said quietly as he pulled on his boots. Adrielle moaned, recognizing the stubbornness in his voice. She pulled on her flats herself and pulled her coat on over her sleeping attire. She wore dresses during the day but preferred to stick with pants and tunics at night.

The pair crept down into the main room. Gaius snored soundly from his small cot. They tiptoed quietly across the floor, until Merlin knocked into a cup on the table and sent it crashing to the floor with a loud thunk. She looked horrified from her brother to Gaius's sleeping form. He wiped his chin and rolled over in bed, but remained asleep the whole time. She sighed gratefully and made her way to the door. She turned and waited for Merlin, who had used his magic to pull the covers back over Gaius.

Adrielle and her brother quietly snuck out of the castle as the followed the sound. The steady call of their names. They followed the voice across the courtyard and down into the dungeons. The paused at the top of the steps as they spotted two guards distractedly playing with a pair of dice. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and sent the dice flying away from the table. One of the guards got up and bent over in an attempt to pick them back up. Adrielle smirked and sent the dice flying further away with a flash of her eyes. Merlin looked over at her and smirked as well. They each took turns magically flinging the dice further and further away until the guards were long gone from them, frantically trying to catch the magical dice.

They quickly and quietly hurried down the remaining steps and grabbed an unlit torch. Merlin lit it before they continued down into the bowels of the city. The calls grew louder and more defined as they descended further down the stairs. The air grew colder around them, smelling old and moldy. Deeper and deeper they walked, until the tunnel let out onto a smell ledge. The ledge looked out into a great and treacherous cavern.

_There was one Uther decided to keep,_  Gaius's words rang through her ears.  _No,_ she thought.  _It can't be. There can't be a_ dragon _down here._  The voice that had been calling them suddenly chuckled. Merlin and Adrielle looked at each other unsure. A powerful breeze suddenly filled the room, blowing their hair around. With a roar a great, giant, dragon landed on a perch of stalagmites in front of them.

"I'm here," it said. It was the same voice both Merlin and Adrielle had heard. The dragon itself was huge. Even in the dark its scales glistened like he was made of gold. Its yellow eyes blinked at the pair of twins a few times before speaking again. "How small you two are for such a great destiny."

"Destiny? What destiny? What do you mean?" Adrielle questioned. The dragon curled its wings in and moved to sit more comfortably on his perch.

"Your gifts, Merlin, Adrielle. They were given to you for a reason," he spoke wisely. Adrielle smiled. So there was a reason they were born this way.

"So there is a reason," Merlin said.

"Arthur is the once and future king who will unite the land of Albion."

"Right..." Merlin said, confused.  _Oh great. Don't tell me our destinies have something to do with that pompous wompous. Please. Anyone_ but _Arthur Pendragon._ Anyone!

"But he faces many threats," the dragon continued, "from friend and foe alike.

"I don't see what this has to do with us."

"Everything," the dragon snapped back. "Without the two of you Arthur will never succeed. Without both of you, there will be no Albion."

"No," Merlin said in disbelief. "No you've got this wrong."

"There is no right and wrong. Only what is and what isn't."

"I'm serious! If anyone wants to kill him they can go ahead. I'll even give them a hand," Merlin retorted. The dragon simply laughed at him.

"None of us can choose our destinies and none of us can escape them," the dragon said stoically.

"No," Adrielle finally said, shaking her head. "No. This has to be wrong. There must be another Arthur because this one...this one's a complete idiot."

"Perhaps it is your destinies to change that, young sorcerers." The dragon finished and unfurled his wings. He took off and flew back into the depths of his cave.  _I can't even keep my brother from getting into trouble_ , Adrielle thought to herself.  _How are we supposed to keep Arthur from getting killed without getting killed ourselves?_

~XX~

Gaius had found them help serving in the hall during the feast the following evening. Gaius was a member of the Council and a friend of the king's. Well, perhaps maybe a colleague, an ally. Uther didn't seem the one to really keep 'friends' around. Gaius was invited to these sorts of feasts and shindigs often. Horns went off, signaling the arrival of Uther and the other royals. Merlin and Adrielle followed Gaius into the hall, bowing appropriately as others passed them. Adrielle looked around and stopped when she saw Arthur joking around with some other men.

She couldn't believe it was their destiny to protect this arse. To help him rise to the throne and be a great king. Maybe there was some humble part of him, some respectable aspects that could be drawn out of him. If there were, they weren't that prevalent. It would take a lot of kicking and screaming to even find them. Getting him to act on them of his own accord and become a better person would be another story.

Arthur looked around the hall suddenly, noting that the girl,  _Adrielle_ , was standing off to the side. Next to her idiot brother and the court physician. His eyes looked her over once before he was pulled into the presence of the Lady Morgana. Adrielle hadn't had the pleasure of meeting her yet. Gwen told her she was rather nice compared to the other royals she had heard the maid servants gossip about. Morgana looked like a damn  _goddess_ as she walked into the hall.

Her dark, long, luscious curls were pulled up. A single strand hung delicately by her face. A simple red beaded cord was tied around her head. A golden halter piece hung around her neck and attached to her strapless dress. It was fabulous material; a deep, blood red colour it was. A golden belt of leaves hung off of her waist in a downward V. The sultry ensemble was finished with a small red jewel placed perfectly just under her eye. Merlin and Adrielle continue to watch, for different reasons, as Arthur approached the Lady and began to converse with her.

"She looks great doesn't she?" Gwen gushed as she appeared at their sides. "Some people are just born to be queen."

"No," Merlin said quickly. For what reason, Adrielle didn't know.

"I hope so," Gwen said sincerely. "One day. Not that I want to be her."

"Course not. Who'd want to marry Arthur," Adrielle said, faking a gag as she did.

"Oh come on. I thought you two liked those big rough, tough, kinds of men," Merlin joked.

"No, I like much more ordinary men like you," Gwen said.

"Believe me, he's not ordinary," Adrielle joked.

"No. No, I don't mean you, Merlin. Obviously," Gwen flushed. "Not  _you._  I mean I like much more ordinary men... _like_  you."

"Uh...thanks." Merlin and Gwen looked at each other for a second before she hurried off. Merlin looked over to Adrielle, hoping she would hold some answers as to what had just occurred. Her response was a confused shrug. The horns sounded again, announcing the entrance of King Uther. The guests moved and took their respective tables. Adrielle and Merlin ended up on the far end of the hall, off to the side and behind the head table.

The King came swaggering in with all his glory. The guests who lined the sides of the hall bowed respectfully as he passed. He took his place at the head table, in the middle between Arthur and the Lady Morgana. He stood and spoke to the hall before taking his seat.

"We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom, and myself, many pleasures. Few can compare with the honor of introducing the Lady Helen, of Mora." He began clapping before taking his seat. The rest of the hall followed suit and clapped for the Lady as they took their seats for the show, too.

Lady Helen took her place on a stage directly across the hall from the royals. She wore a glamorous golden gown with light blue accents. She smiled to the crowd before beginning her performance. Her voice was beautiful. She sang a song in a language she'd never heard before but it didn't matter. Her singing voice transformed the words as she sung Adrielle felt as though she were being transported somewhere else. She was no longer in Camelot, she didn't know where she was but she was flying.

Suddenly, she felt tired. Extremely tired. Her breathing slowed down and her eyes drooped, heaving with all the worries of her day. She couldn't bear to stand here for much longer. She needed to sleep. Maybe if she just napped for a second. She could lean up against a pillar and no one would be the wiser.

She felt someone nudge her sharply from behind. She turned to see Merlin alert and frantic, holding his hands to his ears. She stared at him confused and drowsy. He quickly removed his hands and placed them over her ears. She quickly felt her sleepiness retreating from her, feeling like she could go days without sleeping. She suddenly understood as she replaced Merlin's hands with her own. The Lady Helen wasn't just singing a beautiful song; she was singing some sort of sleeping spell. An incantation. She looked around the hall as the now muffled sounds of Lady Helen's song continued.

The Lady had moved forward closing the distance between herself and the King. Her eyes were fixed almost crazily, not on Uther, but Arthur. Cobwebs had slowly begun forming on the sleeping individuals, the air decaying all around them. Her singing intensified and she slowly pulled out a dagger, still staring intently at Arthur.

That's when all the puzzle pieces suddenly hit her. The old crone they had seen at the execution.  _An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A son for a son._  How she had done it, Adrielle didn't know, but the old lady had taken the appearance of the Lady Helen and was planning to exact her revenge. She was planning to kill Arthur.

Adrielle had to stop her. Without carefully thinking she looked up at the chandelier that the imposter Lady Helen now stood under. Adrielle's eyes flashed gold and the chain broke sending the heavy chandelier crashing to the floor. Lady Helen crumpled to the ground under the weight of the fixture, unconscious. The pair lowered their hands from their ears as the guests in the hall slowly began to wake. They glanced around the room and at each other confused. People brushed the cobwebs off of themselves. Merlin looked slowly from the chandelier to his sister, admiring her handy work.

Uther had woken up and was on his feet, looking wildly at the women under the chandelier. Her hair had faded and shriveled from black to silvery white. Her skin had shrunk and aged in mere seconds. The lady who lied on the ground was not the young and beautiful Lady Helen of Mora who stood there before. It was, in fact, Thomas James Collins's mother.

The guests whispered amongst each other as they pondered the situation before them. Arthur too stood, looking in disbelief at the woman. She stirred and propped herself up onto her hands. She grabbed the dagger and with a last burst of strength, chucked it at the young prince.

Adrielle could see the path it would take before it had come to pass. She watched it as it flew through the air towards Arthur. He just stood there and stared at it in horror. It would lodge itself in Arthur's chest before he could think to move. Merlin reacted before Adrielle could. He slowed time around the knife, and the entire hall, down and moved quickly. He pulled Arthur out of the way and the two fell to the floor. The knife plunged into the back of Arthur's chair.

The hall seemed to be frozen again. All eyes were locked onto the spot where Arthur had stood just a moment before. Adrielle hurried over to the two boys.

"Are you alright? Merlin? Arthur?" she asked quickly, her voice trembling. She couldn't keep the slight sense of fear out of her voice. Her adrenaline had been racing since the moment she realized Thomas's other was out for Arthur's blood.

Arthur stood, looking slightly taken aback at the boy who had just saved his life. It had been Merlin. The boy who had defied him, who had stood up to him,  _twice_. He was the one who had saved his life. He looked from the boy to his sister whose face was riddled with fear and...concern? He couldn't be sure. Whatever had been there before flickered and died out, being replaced with only anger. Anger for unknowingly endangering her brother's life.

"You saved my boy's life," Uther said gratefully to Merlin. "A debt must be repaid."

Merlin looked at the ground suddenly embarrassed to be getting this much attention from the king. "No, no. That's not necessary," Merlin muttered.

"Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded," Uther continued.

"No honestly you don't have to your highness-"

"No absolutely! This merits something quite special." Merlin's face perked up slightly. "You shall be awarded a place in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."

Adrielle had to bite her lip hard this time to avoid from making any inappropriate sounds. She played the smile that graced her face off as a kind one; that this was a kind and gracious gesture from the king, that Merlin's greatest dreams and wishes had just been granted. She smiled at the pair, both of whom seemed a little put off, and began clapping.

The rest of the evening dulled in comparison to the beginning of the feast. No one could stop talking about what had happened. The real Lady Helen was presumed dead. The guests also gossiped about the newcomer who had saved the Prince's life and been named his newest servant. The two men in question, however, sulked the majority of the evening. Neither of them, however, seemed overly enthusiastic with the news of the new arrangement.

Merlin was still sulking even after the feast. He sat in their shared room looking almost like he was in deep thought.

"Why do you look so down?" Adrielle questioned as she came in and took the seat next to him.

"Who says I look down?" he replied.

"Your face. Come on Merlin, you're a hero. You should be happy," she responded.

"I don't know if hero is quite the right word," Merlin joked. "Does he really deserve to be saved?"

"Maybe that's your job. To prove that he deserves to live," Adrielle offered. Merlin opened his mouth the speak when Gaius came walking in

"It seems that you're a hero," he said. Adrielle cocked her head at Merlin and breathed out a pointed laugh.

"Ha. I'm not the only one who thinks so," she joked.

"It's hard to believe, isn't it," he said to Gaius.

"No. I knew it from the moment I met the two of you. You both saved my life, remember," Gaius said. Of course, how could they forget? One does not simply forget the moment they used magic to save a man's life.

"But that was magic," Merlin said confused.

"Now it seems we've found a purpose for it." Merlin looked from his sister back to Gaius, hoping for him to go on. "I saw how you saved Arthur's life. Perhaps that's its purpose."

Merlin sighed heavily and muttered, "Our destiny."

"Whoa there, Merlin. You're the one who saved Arthur's life and gets all the glory. I'll save my magic and destiny for another prince," Adrielle replied.

"No. The dragon said it was  _our_ destinies to protect and save Arthur. I saw you. You're the one who reacted first; you're the one who dropped the chandelier onto the imposter. You saved him first," Merlin teased. "You  _like_  him.  _You fancy him_! Adrielle likes Prince Arthur!"

"Shut up, Merlin. I do not like him. I do  _not fancy him_ ," she said defensively while shoving his shoulder. Merlin didn't listen to her and continued to tease and taunt her. She only responded with trying to down out his voice with her own protests.

"If you two are done behaving like children," Gaius called. He definitely was fitting into the parental role quite well, Adrielle thought. "I have something the both of you might like."

He unwrapped the book he had been holding in his hands and handed it to the two.

"This was given to me when I was your age," he said. "I have a feeling it will be of more use to you two now." The twins looked over the book and slowly began to read through it.

"But Gaius," Adrielle said suddenly. "This is a book of  _magic_!"

"And that is why you must keep it hidden," he warned.

"We will study every word!" Merlin said excitedly. A knock at their chamber doors brought the three of them back.

"Merlin," a voice called. "Prince Arthur requires your presence." Adrielle chuckled at the look that appeared on Merlin's face.

"Seems like your destiny is calling, Merlin. Better go find out what it wants," Gaius smiled with a nod toward the door. Merlin took off leaving the book in Adrielle's grasp.

"Adrielle, I know you were also responsible for saving Arthur's live," Gaius said.

"No one knows though. They were all unconscious. Besides, it's not like I can claim responsibility for causing the chandelier to fall. No one would believe it to be true unless the use of magic was involved," Adrielle shrugged.

"I know that. You always seem to be the one to react first. Your reflexes are strong, perhaps stronger than a cat's," Gaius spoke.

"So it seems," she said. She could sense Gaius was going somewhere but she wasn't sure where.

"Perhaps those reflexes could be put to good use. Merlin was rewarded for his bravery today. I feel you should also be rewarded for your integrity."

"Thanks Gaius but I'd rather not be anybody's 'manservant'," she replied jokingly.

"What I'm offering you, if you'll take it, is a position. As my official apprentice. You won't get paid for it, but you'll be granted all the same privileges as me. Besides a spot on the Royal Council, that is. You don't have to take it, but it's yours if you want it," Gaius suggested humbly.

"What would that entail?" she asked, her voice a mix of excitement and curiosity.

"Well, you would study to follow in my footsteps. Follow me on my rounds and practice the art of medicine. It won't be easy, but it is an exciting and interesting field. Who knows, it might even be fun," Gaius said.

"I dunno, that still sounds like I'm being recruited as your manservant," Adrielle said sarcastically but smiled all the same. "Gaius, I'd be honored to be your apprentice."


	4. Chapter 4

_Valiant: Part 1_

Adrielle's eyes burned behind her drooping eyelids. The dying candlelight forced her to strain her eyes. She hadn't bothered to get up and light a new one. Her brain hurt too much to try and make her body get up and work. Her head was resting on her propped up hand, but her head was slowly becoming too heavy for even her hand to support.

She thought she had gotten off easy compared to Merlin. He was 'rewarded' with becoming Arthur's manservant. _Princ_ e Arthur, that is. He had to serve him breakfast nearly every morning, dress him, follow him around all day, and do all his chores. Whenever the prince was awake, Merlin was at his heels like a dog.

Adrielle had smirked at the thought that Merlin would be dragged around like a dummy. Heck, he even stood in as a live dummy for more realistic training sessions. Adrielle just hoped, for the sake of the other kingdoms, that their warriors who challenged either the prince or the kingdom were better fighters than Merlin. He practically just stood there and tried to block every blow Prince Arthur had thrown at him. He never made any attempt to fight back. He had no skill whatsoever as a warrior.

Adrille winced slightly.  _Ow. Too much thinking_. Her brain probably hurt twice as much as Merlin's body did. She had been wrong in thinking that being a physician's apprentice was easier than being someone's manservant. There had been no slow easing into her position. Right away she began learning about the human body.

The next morning after the feast Gaius had come up early to wake both Merlin and Adrielle for the first day of their newly appointed positions. Merlin had to get up and fetch the prince his breakfast before he woke up and starved. Of course Gaius had already been busy planning his lessons for Adrielle.

The world around her did not stop for her to study and master the theoretical aspect before continuing onto the real world application. No. The best way to learn and study, in Gaius's opinion, was to dive head first into the art of healing. Sure she was required to learn and study all the different herbs used and remedies she could prepare, things she could only learn by reading a book. But the rest of the time she was getting hands on experience that came with the job. Following Gaius on his rounds and staying with him during examinations. Those were the best times to teach Adrielle, Gaius thought. In the moment.

Her first day on the job and she already had encountered a man who had been bitten by spider and a woman who was thirty weeks pregnant. Gaius would check her over once a week just to make sure her pregnancy was coming along well. She was the size of a house and nearly ready to pop. She still had a little bit of time before she would give birth. Adrielle had asked politely if she could feel the woman's stomach. She had seen a few women in Ealdor who were with child and they always would bubble with excitement about feeling the baby kick from inside them. The feeling of new life hiding behind their stomach.

The woman obliged happily. Adrielle cautiously placed her hand on the rounded stomach and waited. At first, she felt nothing; only the firmness of the woman's bulging belly.  _It's because I'm a monster, isn't it. I told Merlin we weren't and Gaius confirmed it, but this baby's not kicking. It's because of me it's all because of me._

And then she felt it, a subtle yet obvious kick. Like something tiny was pushing out against her hand. No, more like something was reaching out to her. She smiled up brightly at the expectant mother. It was amazing to think that this is where she and Merlin started. She could only imagine having to carry a growing child, let alone  _two_  of them. Especially a handful like Merlin, even as a baby. That eighteen some odd years ago they were tiny little things stuffed into their mother's body. Gaius had henceforth told her exactly where babies came from. She had known how they were made, obviously, but not  _exactly_  what a woman's body went through during pregnancy. She secretly hoped she'd never have to personally experience that.

 _See. You're no monster, silly. You just need to stop acting like a drama queen. Stop overreacting to everything. No one has any idea what secrets you're hiding. Just breath and relax_. She rolled her eyes at her self doubts and sarcasm.

"Well, Eva," Gaius began. "All seems to be going well. I'll come back same time next week to check on you again. In all reality you should be ready any day now. You and your midwife should start preparing just incase. I've seen women give birth earlier and later than expected."

"Thank you, Gaius. You've been so much help," Eva chimed. "I don't think Adrian and I would have gotten through this pregnancy without all you've done."

"It's nothing, my dear. I'm glad to help, even if it is my job," he continued as he packed up his supplies.

"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Adrielle asked curiously.

"In fact we do. If it's a boy, Corbin, and if it's a girl, Lydia," Eva said brightly. Adrielle smiled in return, giving the woman her seal of approval. Gaius slung his medicine bag over his shoulder and handed Eva two vials.

"This one is to help you sleep at night, and this one is is for any generic discomfort you feel. Oh, and a supply of chamomile. I'd start stockpiling that up if I were you. You'll thank me after the child is born. It does wonders for the pains of labour. Or so I've heard, that is." Gaius instructed as he handed her a small poultice. Gaius turned to Adrielle and took his opportunity to teach. "And, Adrielle, what would we make either of these remedies from?"

"Uhm...comfrey, coriander, and..cowbane?" she guessed. She had read through some of the books Gaius had given her last night. Not the one about magic, unfortunately. Gaius had shoveled just a  _few_  beginners books on medicine her way. She remembered reading through a lot of different herbs and their uses before her eyes had given out and she succumbed to sleep. Those were the only ones she had actually remembered names for.

"Possibly comfrey as a painkiller and coriander for her sleepiness, yes. That's a good start, but cowbane? If you wanted to kill the mother and her poor child, sure. Cowbane  _can_  be used as a painkiller but only in serious, _extreme_  cases," Gaius lectured. Eva looked from Gaius to Adrielle concerned, unsure if she trusted this young woman with her health.

"Don't worry, Eva," Gaius said, noting her change in expression. "It's only her first day as my apprentice. I won't let any of her silly mistakes slip by. Goodbye, my dear." The three said their goodbyes as Gaius and Adrielle departed.

"Well that went well," Adrielle said casually.

"See, you'll do fine. Now, some of my stores have run a bit dry. I'll need you to go out and gather some iris for me."

He looked over at Adrielle, half expecting to see the blank expression on her face.

"That's the one with the dark purple petals-"

"Purple petals! Got it! I'm on it, Gaius," Adrille said while she hurried off out of the city. As she made her way out, she passed a few men here and there.  _Knights_ , she corrected herself. She knew she'd have to constantly remind herself that not everybody were as they seemed here in Camelot. Not just in the way her and Merlin were not 'as they seemed; two lowly commoners and servants who secretly had magic and supposedly this great big destiny.

No. The men she passed on the road were knights, men of nobility. They were piling in from all over the kingdom. Camelot was holding a tournament in a few days time. Gaius had tried to explain it to her but she still didn't exactly understand the whole concept. Knights from all over the land came in and competed against each other. Their swords, brawn, and wit were their only weapons. If they managed to beat every other contestant their prize was the honour of knowing they were the best. Oh, and a thousand gold pieces. Who could forget the money? But to the knights the money was just an added bonus. It was all about reputation for them.

Gaius had started to prep her on the tournament. Merlin would have to learn about all the etiquette and preparation that went into helping out Prince Arthur during the tournament. Adrielle would be needed for her own set of skills. It wasn't a fight to the death, but Gaius had warned her that injuries weren't uncommon. If an injury or two were to occur, it would be the prime opportunity for her to gain hands on experience. She wasn't sure if she should be excited or worried about the possibility of seeing slightly injured, nearing death, knights. She assumed it'd probably be something she'd have to encounter and get use to eventually. Even in a kingdom as great as Camelot under Uther's rule, she rolled her eyes internally, war was inevitable.

Adrielle heard the faint sound of metal clinking as she neared the forest, but she paid no mind to it. Not until an unmistakable and slightly irritating voice called out out to her.

"Leaving so soon, are we?"

She didn't know why she stopped or why she turned towards the pair that stood before her. There was Prince Arthur in his armour and chainmail, leaning against his sword which was stuck into the dirt. Below him on the ground was a pitiful figure in a chest piece and helmet. She absentmindedly realized it was Merlin who lied on the ground.

"Couldn't handle the pressure of being a physician's assistant? It's only been what, one day?" he continued haughtily.

"It hasn't even been a full day," Adrielle called back as she approached the two. "How do you even know about that?"

"I  _am_  the king's son, you know," Prince Arthur retorted.

"How could I forget?" she replied under her breath. Prince Arthur continued on as if he hadn't heard her at all.

"I tend to know when people get appointed to positions and such. Especially when the physician's newest apprentice also happens to be  _my_  manservant's sister," Arthur replied pointedly. He found himself looking at Adrielle again; and again he found he couldn't explain why. He broke eye contact with her to look at the ground. Anywhere besides those dark blue eyes that seemed to captivate him.

"I'm going out to collect herbs for Gaius, if you must know. But I see you're too busy picking on this poor sap to care so I'll just be off," Adrielle replied curtly.

"Oi! I'm not some  _poor sap_ ," Merlin's figure whined.

"Ah, Merlin. I thought that was you down there," she chuckled, cocking her head to the side as she looked down on him. "I see you're losing."

"Don't you have some flowers to pick," Merlin replied, suddenly offended.

"Have fun boys. Oh, and Arthur-" she started. She stopped when he raised his eyebrows at her. " _Sire_. Don't go too easy on my dear brother there." She flashed a cheeky smile before turning on her heel and leaving.

"Looks like your sister's on my side," Arthur said as he watched her walk away.

"Trust me, she's not," Merlin replied as he shook himself off.

"We'll see," Arthur said quietly. He turned to back into Arthur, acting like his usual prince self again. "How's your mace work coming along?"

~xx~

"Ah, Adrielle. Glad to see you back," Gaius called as Adrielle walked into her chambers.

"Why is that?" she asked as she set her basket of freshly picked iris's onto a nearby table.

"You're day of learning is hardly complete, child." Adrielle sighed dramatically as she took a seat. "I'll need you to make the Lady Morgana's sleeping draft for the night. The poor girl suffers from night terrors. I'll also need you to deliver it to her. Your partner in crime should still be busy for a few hours yet."

"First of all, Merlin is anything but my 'partner in crime'. How do you prepare her sleeping draft?" she asked curiously.

"That my dear, is what you're going to learn."

Gaius moved across the room and gathered a variety of objects. He returned to where she was seated and set down a couple of different plants and a jar of some interesting looking goop. Actually scratch that. Not interesting. Gross.

"What? Right now?"

"Yes, right now," Gaius said back as he grabbed a few bottles. He placed a small ceramic bowl down and a matching club shaped object next to it.

"First, take four sprigs of lavender and two sprigs of the rosemary here and place them into the mortar. That's the small bowl. Lavender is this light purple flower here and rosemary is the green one with the little lilac flowers. The flowers help you distinguish the plant but they are not needed for this preparation. We usually save the flowers for other things. You'll also need to add a drop of water into the mortar before you start mashing. We're trying to create a paste for now. You'll use the pestle," he said holding up the club like object. He pointed to the bowl with it, "to make the paste in the mortar. You'll need to use a crushing and grinding motion. Now go on."

Adrielle hesitated slightly before moving.

 _Okay, four lavenders. Those are the light purple flowers that look like a pine cone_ , she thought to herself. She'd have to remember all of this and be able to recall it at a moment's notice.  _Lavender light purple, cone shaped. Light purple, cone shaped, lavender_. She turned to the rosemary next.

_Green piney ones that have purple flowers. Flowers are not necessary for the sleeping draught. Rosemary, green pine ones with purple flowers. Smells woody._

She added the proper amount of lavender and rosemary to the mortar and a drop of water before she began grinding it up. She crushed and grinded the ingredients for a couple of minutes while Gaius rummaged around the room. He returned with a few glass vials in different sizes. He turned to instruct her further as she finished making a nice paste.

"Good, good. Looks like you've got the easy part down. Now you'll need to add two scoops of this mucus here to this flask," he said while handing her the flask in question.

"Do I even want to know what kind of mucus that is?" she asked while picking up the closed bottle and examining it closely. She swirled it around and watched as the light yellow gel stayed in place for the most part.

"I was going to save you the trouble until another time, but if you are so desperate to know. The mucus comes from the flobberworm. They are small, plump, brown worms that can be found in gardens," Gaius explained.

"And how do you..." Adrielle started, frowning as she did.

"Get the mucus from them?" he asked, guessing the rest of her question after she paused. She nodded slowly while setting the bottle back down, suddenly wondering if she really wanted to know  _how_  to get the mucus.

"I'll spare you that piece of information until another day. Now once you've add the flobberworm mucus to the flask take a few needles from this plant, sweet cicely. Add the paste from the mortar, four drops of water, and start swirling it around. I'll get the fire started and then we'll heat up the mixture for about twenty minutes."

Gaius retreated to the other side of the room to start the fire. Adrielle gulped and unstoppered the bottle and used a small scooper to scoop out two portions of the mucus. She lifted the bottle to her nose before plugging it up. She gagged slightly when she inhaled what she thought smelled like earwax. She set the bottle down and continued on with Gaius's instructions. _Earwax smelling mucus, cicely needles, paste, and water._

Once the concoction had been mixed and heated properly, Gaius allowed Adrielle to take the flask off the heat to continue with the preparation.

"Add a couple drops of this valerian tincture, swirl it around and make sure it's well mixed, and then let it set for a moment or two. Then you'll pour it into a phial like this, stopper it, and deliver it to the Lady Morgana," Gaius said while handing her a phial.

"What, tonight? Right now?" Adrielle asked as she worked.

"Yes right now. She'll need it to go to sleep later tonight."

"And this really will help her sleep? Without any nightmares?" Adrielle questioned as she swirled the potion around.

"For the most part, yes. The ingredients are all known to help aid in sleepiness. The preparation of them together is to help her fall asleep and be in a sleep deep enough that she won't have any dreams or nightmares. Or at least won't be able to remember any of them. Did you know we have several dreams a night but are unable to recall many or most of them?"

"Hm. Interesting," Adrielle pondered. She wasn't sure how a few flowers and leaves were suppose to create a potion capable of lulling someone to sleep. Or how they were able to rid someone of nightmares. She supposed she better start believing. This was her position after all. To know all about the human body, medicine, herbs, and how these all come together as one.

She snapped herself out of her thoughts and poured the solution into the flask and put a cork into it. She held it up in front of Gaius for him to examine.

"Very good," he declared. "Now go on and deliver that. I'll get started on our dinner. Your brother should be finishing soon. The two of you can relax after your first day on the job."

Adrielle picked up the draught and scurried out to find the Lady Morgana's chambers.

Adrielle floated through the castle corridors as she made her way to the Lady Morgana's chambers. Gaius had given her precise instructions as to where her chambers were located and how to exactly get there. Getting into trouble seemed to be a daily occurrence for not only Merlin but also Adrielle herself. It must have been something in their shared DNA. Gaius seemed to have made it his life's mission to not give either of them a reason to cause trouble. If they got into trouble it would be of their own accord, although Gaius would still try his hardest to keep them from going astray.

She bounced up a set of stairs and turned down another corridor. She turned towards a door and stopped. The door was ajar, yet she waited outside and knocked quietly, waiting to be called to enter. She didn't want to accidentally reveal her magic again to someone.

"Uhm...hello?" she called through the door. "Morgana? Erm...Lady Morgana?"

"Yes? Come in," a soft and sultry voice called from the other side of the door. Adrielle pushed the door open and approached the lady who sat facing her at a table across the room. The Lady Morgana looked up from the table to watch Adrielle as she entered the room.

Morgana had black hair that was as dark as a raven. Her dark locks cascaded down past her shoulders like a black sky, the light catching it like stars. It made Adrielle's dark hair pale in comparison. There was no life, no vibrancy to her own hair. It laid in flat, dull strands while the Lady Morgana's was glossy and bouncy. Her light blue eyes seemed to pierce into the very depths of Adrielle. She felt a strange compulsion to recoil and shrink away under the woman's gaze. She refrained, however, and pushed forward only after a second's hesitation.

"Uhm I'm Gaius's new apprentice. He asked me to deliver your sleeping draft. My lady," she said while holding out the draft in question. In an instant it seemed Adrielle was looking at a new woman. Her body relaxed as her features softened. Her face broke into a simple smile and her eyes were soft and kind as she looked at her.

"Thank you," she said kindly. "I saw you at the feast last night. Your brother saved Arthur from the witch. I don't think I caught your names."

"Adrielle and my brother's Merlin. I think you're the first person I've met in Camelot who has recognized Merlin as my brother. Most people think he's my boyfriend or something," Adrielle mused.

"Really? That's quite the assumption to jump to," she said with a gentle smile. Adrielle softened in response and felt a small smile etch it's way on her face. At first she had been almost intimidated by the Lady Morgana. Perhaps she had startled her when she entered. An unknown person entering your chambers with a strange liquid in her hands could be off putting. But now the Lady seemed calm and at ease. Adrielle could see how a girl as sweet as Gwen would speak so highly of the Lady Morgana.

"Thank you for bringing me my draft. Although I fear it doesn't always do the job," she continued casually. Lady Morgana stood from her chair and moved over to where Adrielle stood. She took the bottle from her hands. As it turned out the Lady Morgana stood just about an inch taller than herself. If she had been standing when Adrielle had entered she probably would have frozen under her gaze, but not now. Adrielle was surprised to find herself comfortable around this older, and more noble, woman.

"Oh, how so? My lady."

"Sometimes it puts me to sleep but doesn't stop the nightmares and other times it does the opposite. It stops the nightmares, but that's only because I can't get to sleep or stay asleep," the Lady Morgana sighed wistfully.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps this batch will do the trick properly, my lady. If I may be so vain," Adrielle offered.

"And what makes you say that?" Lady Morgana's sardonic voice asked.

"Gaius had me prepare it. It was under his careful guidance, but maybe I have the magic touch," she joked. Morgana's eyes narrowed slightly as Adrielle froze, suddenly realizing how she had phrased that.

 _Oh no_ , Adrielle thought. _Oh God, what have I done? I couldn't have picked a better word than that? Than_  magic _?_

"You made this?" she asked. "But today is just your first day."

Adrielle's body relaxed as a nervous laugh escaped her lips.

"Yes, it is. Gaius's philosophy on teaching is to jump right into it. If that is all my lady I shall be going now," she said politely before she turned to leave.

~xx~

Shortly after Adrielle had returned Merlin came stumbling in. Adrielle didn't look up at her brother until he dropped his substitute armour. They fell to the ground with a loud metallic clank.

"So, how was your first day as Arthur's servant?" Gaius asked casually, but even she could tell that Gaius was amused. Merlin stood there dazed and stared at them. He tapped his head a couple times before replying.

"Do you hear clanging?" he replied. He held his head as he tried to look around for the source of the noise.

"That's not a proper answer," Adrielle chuckled. She moved towards him and helped take off the rest of his armour pieces. She peeled off several layers of tunics and padding. Merlin apparently needed multiple layers to even begin to stand up to Arthur's physical stature.

Merlin fell into his seat and let out a groan.

"It was horrible," he sighed. Gaius stepped up behind him and started to work out the knots in Merlin's shoulders. "Oh and I've still got to learn all that tournament etiquette by the morning."

A look suddenly passed over Merlin's face. He narrowed his eyes at the book and spoke, " _Onhríne achtung bregdan._ " The book moved swiftly from the other side of the table and stopped right in front of Merlin. It opened itself and long pull out page about armour sprung out. Merlin smiled briefly before Gaius whacked him on the back of the head.

"Oi! What have I told you about using magic like this!" he chastised.

"If I could actually feel my arms I'd pick up the book myself!" Merlin whined.

"Pansy," Adrielle whispered before Gaius continued.

"Nevermind your arms, what am I to do if either of you get caught?"

"What would you do?" Merlin asked his voice suddenly become serious and concerned.

"Well you just make sure that doesn't happen for all three of our sakes. Not to mention your poor mother," Gaius said veering off the topic. He pulled back Merlin's left arm and began trying to better work out a kink in his shoulder. Merlin winced a few times as his shoulder popped and his muscles began to stretch.

"I save Arthur's life and I end up his servant. How is that fair?"

"I'm not sure fairness comes into it." He moved Merlin's arm back and began to loosen up his hand and wrist. "You never know, it might be fun."

Merlin let out an amused laugh. "You think mucking out Arthur's horses is going to be fun. You should see my list of duties."

"Does it include whining a lot?" Adrielle taunted. Merlin glared over at her and made a quite unattractive face in response. She returned the gesture and stuck her tuck out childishly at him.

"We all have our duties," Gaius said, oblivious to the example of sibling affection going on. "Even Arthur."

"Must be so hard for him. What will all the glory. All the  _girls_." Merlin turned to Adrielle and gave her a pointed look.

"What's that suppose to mean?" she questioned.

"Oh don't give me that. I saw you two _flirting_  earlier today. Disgusting is what it is."

Adrielle felt her face flush and burn. "I was not  _flirting_  with him! As if!"

"Then why are you blushing so much?" he teased.

"The idea is just so ludicrous, that's why! You were too dazed from being beaten around. You wouldn't know if someone was flirting with you even if they were wearing a giant sign that said 'Oi, Merlin! I'm flirting with you you clotpole'."

"'Clot _pole_ '?" Gaius and Merlin repeated confused. Adrielle continued on as if she had never heard them.

"Besides I'd rather save my charm for someone else besides Prince Arthur. He's pompous, arrogant, rude-"

"And the future king of Camelot," Gaius interjected. "People expect a lot out of him. He's under a lot of pressure."

"He's not the only one!" Merlin cried as Gaius squeezed his shoulder, a sickening yet satisfying  _crack_  escaping.

~xx~

Adrielle pulled herself out of bed the following morning ready for the first day of tournament matches. She got herself dressed in a dress that she was okay with getting messy. She honestly had no idea what to expect at today's tournament, but she supposed when it came to her position she should just always expect messiness and death. Better safe than sorry. Adrielle pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and tied it up with a strip of leather.

"Adrielle! Merlin!" Gaius's voice called from the other side of their door. "Hurry up and get ready. I've made you some breakfast but then you'll be needed down at the tournament grounds, both of you."

"Alright, thanks Gaius," Adrielle called back. "You heard the man, Merlin. Up and at 'em."

She waited for an annoyed response but was surprised to hear only silence. She turned around to make sure her brother was still alive only to find him still sound asleep in his bed. Adrielle moved closer to his bed and noticed an open book still sitting on top of his face. She knelt close to his ear before she decided to strike.

"Oi! Merlin!" she shouted in his ears. Merlin yelped and jumped up from his restful state. The book that had been laying on his face fell to the ground followed by Merlin's clumsy body. He sat up and tried to orient himself. He winced and rubbed his forehead before glaring up at his sister.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Merlin whined as he began to stand up.

"You over slept. Gaius says we need to get ready and head down to the grounds. I don't think Prince Arthur would be too thrilled if you were late today. He does have his fancy reputation to uphold," Adrielle said with an exasperated sigh.

"Why do you care about Arthur and his reputation?" Merlin asked as he pulled on his jacket and scarf.

"I don't. That's why my voice lacked all enthusiasm," she countered. All Merlin could muster was an unimpressed, "Mmhmm."

"If you care about anything it should be the fact that Arthur is probably going to kill me today. I was up all night trying to study that damned book," Merlin cursed.

"I know. Your face was trying to use it as a shield from the light," she teased.

"This isn't funny. How are we suppose to protect and save someone who practically hates us?"

"Beats me. I suppose we'll just have to try and figure it out together. Now come on, there has to be someone who can help you learn all this tournament etiquette. Or at least give you some help to get you through your first day," Adrielle suggested.

"What, like you?" Merlin replied.

"What? No not me. Did I say me? I know just about as much as you do when it comes to being someone's servant and tourney etiquette. Which in case you haven't noticed is nothing," she retorted.

"You could always try Guinevere. She is the blacksmith's daughter, but I'd suggest getting a move on. The tournament does start today," Gaius said suddenly, peeking his head through the door. Adrielle jumped an inch off the ground as she turned around.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Adrielle," Gaius said with a small smirk of a smile.

"Ha, please. You didn't startle me. You'd have to get up pretty early to scare me," Adrielle said with a fidgety laugh. Gaius eyed her shortly before speaking again.

"Like I said, try Gwen if you are so desperate for some help. I expect to see the two of you down at the grounds by a quarter to noon." Gaius shut the door behind him as he retreated back into the main chambers.

~xx~

The two arrived at the blacksmith's in no time. They could have gotten there sooner had Adrielle offered to carry more than just the helmet. Merlin didn't object and ask her to carry more so Adrielle didn't offer. She was courteous enough to open doors and make sure he didn't fall down any stairs.

"Adrielle," Gwen said kindly as she opened the door. "And...Merlin? What are you two doing here?"

"I was hoping you could help me out," Merlin said from behind his pile of armor. "I have absolutely no idea how to put any of this on Arthur. The tournament starts in half an hour."

"Of course, come in," Gwen said as she opened the door to allow them entry. Merlin stumbled forward and dumped his armload onto Gwen's clean table. Gwen rummaged through the pieces until she found the one she was looking for.

"First you've got voiders on the arms." Gwen held up the piece she had picked out and showed it off to Merlin. He nodded before she showed him how to place it on his arm.

"Next you've got the hauberk which goes over your chest." She picked up another piece, this one much wider, and held it up to him before she placed it on his chest. "With me so far?"

"I think so. Hauberk on the chest voiders on the arms. Chest. Arms," Merlin recited to himself.

"And last but not least the helmet. I trust you know what to do with that," Gwen said with a small smile.

"Oh, I know where this one goes!" Adrielle spoke up excitedly. She bounced forward and shoved the helmet onto Merlin's head, knocking on it twice before returning to her place. Even from under the helmet's shelter, Adrielle could see Merlin kiddingly frowning at his sister.

"Thanks," he grumbled. He turned to Gwen and spoke to her next. "How is it you're so much better at this than me?"

"I am the blacksmith's daughter. I know everything there is to know about armour. Which, admittedly, is kind of sad," Gwen responded.

"No, I think it's brilliant!" Merlin gushed. Adrielle had to stifle the small eye roll that yearned to be felt. She had known her brother for years, her entire life in fact, and had never seen him act this way. It was obvious he had begun to fancy Gwen. Adrielle had to admit she did think it was pretty adorable.

"I still have no idea how to  _actually_  put it on him. I don't think Arthur would appreciate me just holding up the pieces and telling him what they were," Merlin said from under the helmet.

"We have an extra body, why don't you practice on her?" Gwen suggested while turning to Adrielle.

"What? No! That's a ridiculous idea," Adrielle protested.

"Oh, come on. The least you can do now is help out your dear brother," Merlin replied. Adrielle sighed heavily and relaxed her body

"Fine. Go ahead."

Merlin and Gwen smiled as she helped him out of the armour and set the pieces back down on the table. He picked up the voider and began to strap it onto his sister's arm. Hers was much smaller than even the smallest knights. Merlin latched it onto the smallest spot and yet it still attempted to slide off her arm. Adrielle moved and held it in place with her other arm. He picked up the next piece, the hauberk, and draped it over Adrielle's shoulders. He continued on and began to strap it around her back.

Despite Adrielle's key feminine features, her chest area was still smaller and more petite in comparison to Arthur's. Even when Merlin had strapped it on as tight as he could it still hung awkwardly over her chest. Merlin stepped back to admire his handy work.

"Last but not least," Merlin said with a cheeky grin. He picked up the helmet and plopped it onto Adrielle's head. Merlin knocked twice on the helmet causing a metallic clanging to echo through her ears. Through the ringing she could hear Gwen and Merlin snickering at her. She rolled her head back so she could see through the giant helmet's eye holes. She glared at the pair from under her visor.

"I'm sorry, but you look ridiculous," Gwen said, stifling another laugh.

"Can you please take this stuff off now?" Adrielle said with a slight whine. Merlin hesitated at the request. He would much prefer to sit back and mock how ridiculous she looked, but he supposed he should be getting to Arthur soon. Arthur would have his head if he were late. Merlin frowned slightly has he stepped forward to take the armour off Adrielle.

"Thank you," Adrielle huffed after she was free of the excess armour. "Are you going to be at the tournament, Gwen?"

"Yes. I'll be there with Lady Morgana. What about you two?"

"Well, Merlin will be there tending to Prince Arthur of course. I'll be following Gaius around in case there are any incidents. Which in fact, we should be getting down there soon. We'll be seeing you, Gwen," Adrielle said with a smile. She motioned for Merlin to follow her as she excused herself from Gwen's house. The two siblings walked in silence towards the tournament grounds. They were slowly accompanied by a growing crowd of spectators. They parted ways as Merlin went to find the dear prince's tent while Adrielle joined Gaius in the physician's tent.


	5. Chapter 5

_Valiant: Part 2_

"Ah, Adrielle. Glad to see you're here on time and out of trouble I hope," Gaius drawled as she entered

"Yes, Gaius. It was just a quick pop down to Gwen's. We managed to evade getting ourselves into trouble for once. I think we can mark up two days without an incident," she replied sarcastically. "So what's on our agenda for today?"

"That my dear, depends on how the tournament goes today. For the most part we'll be able to sit and enjoy the competition. If anything happens to any of the knights and they need our attention we'll be there to attend to them. We'll have to assess the situation when we come to it and then we'll carry on from there," Gaius instructed.

"Fun," Adrielle mused. "Is there anything you need me to do right now?"

As she looked around the tent she noticed it looked much like the inside of their chambers. It was about half the size of their main chambers, of course. There was an examination bed set up near the middle of the tent. A few small tables were placed in the remaining spaces. On the tables were plants and instruments that were vaguely familiar to Adrielle.

"Not at the moment, no. I'm nearly finished setting up anyways. You may join your brother if you wish to watch the tournament. Just make sure if anything does happen you're ready to jump into action. If you see me hurrying out onto the field while another man lies flat on his bum that's your cue to follow me. As long as you're not too enchanted gawking over the knights we'll be in good shape," Gaius said. He made sure to try and mumble that last part under his breath. Adrielle's ears were just as quick as her reflexes; she caught every word he spoke.

" _Gaius_!" she said stupefied.

"I'm sorry, Adrielle. I just know how girls your age are. They see an attractive man like Arthur and they lose all their senses," he continued, keeping his back to her.

"I do  _not_  find Prince Arthur attractive or anything else of the sort. I am quite different from women my age in case you haven't noticed," she countered.

"Of course I've noticed. Anyone with half a brain could see that you and your brother are different."

"Let's just hope no one else sees exactly how different we are," Adrielle whispered.

"The tournament should be starting any minute now if you want to catch all of it," Gaius said while pointing to the tent's mouth. Adrielle eyed Gaius before she departed the tent. She spotted a line of knights all dressed up in their armour and family crests. She watched them pass her as they marched into the arena where the tournament was being held. She fell in line behind them and peeled off at the entrance to the grounds. She watched the knights file in and line up in two lines of twelve.

She cursed herself for being able to spot Prince Arthur almost immediately. Even from only being able to see the backs of their heads she could clearly spot him. He was in the back row, fifth one from the far side, nearly smack dab in the middle. Horns echoed sounding the king's entrance. She refocused her attention on him as Merlin came to stand beside her.

"Knights of the realm," Uther called. "It is a great honour to welcome you to the tournament at Camelot. Over the next four days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, you skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur. Only one can have the honour of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of one thousand gold coins."

A servant, who was standing off to the side, opened up the box that he was holding. Inside was the prize money the king had mentioned. The crowd  _oohed_  and  _awed_  as the money was shown off.

"It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature; whether he is indeed a warrior or a coward. The tournament begins!" With the king's final words he turned to exit the arena, his cloak billowing dramatically behind him. The crowd cheered as all the knights but two excited the arena; Prince Arthur and another knight whom Adrielle did not know. Two guards came to take the capes of the first two contestants. Prince Arthur and the other knight drew their swords. They took a starting stance and waited. Adrielle and Merlin were in a prime spot to watch the tournament as the two competitors began to fight.

Adrielle had only ever seen the prince fight once and even then it wasn't much of a fight. Prince Arthur had been the only one really fighting when he and Merlin had sparred the other day. Anyone could look like an expert if they attempted to properly fight against Merlin. All her time in Ealdor she had never seen men fight this way. She could see how the spectators ate up every second of the fight. Both Arthur and the other man were quite skilled. It was almost beautiful to watch, apart from the fact that someone usually died at the end of these fights. The movements that the two men took were swift, almost delicate. Prince Arthur knew exactly what move to make two moves before he needed to make it. His steps were precise and accurate. Even when he was forced to recoil back, nearly missing a slice to the stomach, it looked like that was exactly what he was supposed to do.

She could hear Merlin begin to cheer the prince on from beside her. She didn't have any favorites in this competition; the only knight she even knew competing was Prince Arthur. She supposed, however, if she were to cheer someone on it might as well be Arthur. The crowd's reactions were now her own as well. Adrielle, Merlin, and the crowd all gasped as Arthur ducked and avoided the sword that sliced right above his head.

The crowd fell under a hush as the two knights stepped back and repositioned themselves. Prince Arthur was the first to strike again. It appeared that he had the upper hand this time. With a few quick hits and blows the prince managed to knock the knight's helmet off and send him to the ground. The crowd began to cheer as their current victor had won his first match. Adrielle clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Arthur took off his helmet and exited the field.

The rest of the day the tournaments preceded much the same. Some knights were more skilled than others and quickly took down their opponents. Knight after knight fell to their competitor, but all remained well in good health. She watched as knights won their rounds and proceeded into the next round of finalists. Subconsciously Adrielle sized up the men who won in an attempt to create her own bracket of victors. She doubted that the men who were to face Prince Arthur would win. Despite how well they fought, she still didn't think that they were any tough match for the prince.

Her mind changed the slightest when she watched the final battle. The fight was Sir Rupert against Sir Valiant. Valiant was quite brutal in his technique. He fought with pure aggression. He would die rather than see his foe defeat him. Within a few moves Valiant had forcefully taken his opponent down. The crowd cheered on the fierce knight as the first day concluded.

Merlin left her side as the tournament ended. He went off to cater to the prince while Adrielle departed to find Gaius.

"Well, that was an easy first day," she commented while entering the tent.

"So it was. I fear most days will not be this easy," Gaius said while packing up his medicine back. He left a few vials on the counter. "I had some extra time during the tournament, so I prepared a few remedies. If you don't mind."

Adrielle sighed and snatched the vials from him. "I suppose this is my job. I'll see you in our chambers later."

Adrielle hurried out of the tent as she started on her way. She figured this would be what most days were like. Preparing potions for Gaius, delivering said remedies, collecting extra herbs, and of course examining patients. While the day to day scenarios might be different the overall routine would remain the same for the most part. There wouldn't always be exciting tournaments or extravagant feasts and parties. At some point her life would have to even out. People couldn't go around all day trying to kill Arthur. At least for her sake she hoped people wouldn't make an attempt on Arthur's life every day. It would make her and Merlin's job as Arthur's 'magical guardian angels' much more involved.

"Not trying to run away again, are we? You're not doing a very good job of it," Arthur's voice chuckled from outside his tent. Adrielle stopped and paused before she turned to him again. He was no longer wearing his armour; she supposed Merlin had already taken it off and hurried on his way. He still wore his red tunic with the Pendragon crest on it over his chainmail. His belt which usually sheathed his sword was still strapped around his waist. He wore his brown boots and matching trousers.

"Why do you seem so eager to get rid of me? People might think you don't want me here," Adrielle replied. She popped her hip out to gain a more comfortable, and albeit sassy, stance.

"Me? Never," he said, attempting to feign innocence. "Besides, it doesn't really matter what I want."

"Actually, it does. You have complete power over that. I hardly imagine you ever forget the fact that you are  _Prince_  Arthur of Camelot, but in case it has escaped your attention for once. You are  _Prince_  Arthur," Adrielle responded.

"Smart girl," Arthur replied simply. Adrielle found herself staring at Arthur. She was suddenly too entrapped by his brilliant light blue eyes to remember that it was her turn to respond and say something quirky.

"So, what have you done with my brother now then?" was all she could come up with.

"What my manservants always do. I've given him a list of chores he'll need to complete before tomorrow's round of matches," Arthur prattled.

"Congratulations on your victories today, by the way," she added.

"Thank you," he replied shortly.

"You're use to winning like this, aren't you?" she suddenly asked.

"Well, yes. Because of my skill, it has nothing to do with my title," he added hastily.

"Of course not," Adrielle mumbled.

"There are quite a lot of people who want my head on a platter. They wouldn't show me any special treatment in the ring."

"No. That would be ridiculous. Well, I wish you luck tomorrow. As long as you're not up against Sir Valiant, your winning streak should continue,  _my lord_."

~xx~

"Thank you, Adrielle," Gaius said as she entered back into her chambers.

"It was no trouble, Gaius. It's nice to get a chance to explore. Meet some of the colourful people of Camelot."

"I'm glad to see you think so. Merlin's up in your room working on Arthur's armour. You can go up and tell him dinner's ready if you like," Gaius said while motioning with his ladle. Adrielle hurried across the room and up the steps to their shared bedroom. She opened the door and saw Merlin lying on his bed, book open in his hands. He looked up suddenly and brought the book to a close on his chest. She almost didn't notice a few items floating in midair until they suddenly dropped to the ground noisily.

"What on Earth is this?!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"Nothing," Merlin shrugged.

"Oh yeah? Cause all this really looks like  _nothing_. Were you doing magic again?"

"No," he denied.

"Mmmhmm. You're a terrible liar. You can't lie to me. Maybe if you spent as much time reading up on being a manservant as you do magic, you'd be Prince Arthur's best friend by now!"

"I don't think there's anything I could do to become  _that_  friendly with Arthur. Is there a reason you came up here? You interrupted me-"

"Doing nothing?" Adrielle finished. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "I just came up here to tell your supper is ready, but if you'd rather do your chores by magic and read that magic book then fine. I'll just eat your supper too."

Adrielle turned on her heel and sauntered back down towards her meal.

~xx~

The following morning when Gaius and Adrielle arrived at the grounds they were only a few yards behind Merlin and Arthur. The crowd cheered as he entered the field and acknowledge the crowd. He held his helmet up for his people, causing them only to cheer him on louder.

"Is it my imagination or are you beginning to enjoy yourself?" Gaius asked Merlin as they settled next to him.

"It…it isn't horrible all the time," Merlin sighed. Gaius nodded and the group turned their attention back to the match that was about to start.

Prince Arthur and his current opponent, knight Laurent, prepared to square off against each other. Arthur struck and the first match of the day began. The crowd cheered as Arthur gained the upper hand once again. Knight Laurent staggered back and regained his stance. He struck forward and pushed Arthur back a few paces.

"Come on," Adrielle heard Merlin whisper next to her. Arthur lifted his shield and took a few blows before he struck. He came back with a renewed force. Blow after blow Arthur struck offensively and broke down his opponent. After another second, Arthur delivered his final blow and sent Laurent to the ground, defeated.

"Whoo!" Adrielle and Merlin cheered in unison. The crowd went wild for their prince, who showed himself victorious again. Arthur helped Laurent to his feet as the two exited the field. They were quickly replaced with the next round of competitors. This round, Valiant was up against Sir Ewan.

Valiant began to fight as aggressively as he had yesterday. This only seemed to draw the affection of even more of the ladies. Adrielle had heard gossip yesterday while she was running about.  _Sir Valiant_ , they all cooed.  _So strong, so mysterious, so handsome_! Adrielle wasn't one to refuse gossiping and crushing on men, but only when it was for a man who was genuinely good looking. Adrielle didn't really find Valiant all that attractive. In fact she thought his fighting style was a little  _too_  aggressive. There was a fine line between being manly aggressive and being scary intimidating. In her opinion, Valiant was definitely on the scarier side.

Sir Ewan certainly was a fair match for Valiant. The two matched each other blow after blow. One would strike and then the other would. They seemed to evenly matched to the other. Suddenly Valiant gained the upper hand and knocked Sir Ewan to the ground. Valiant pushed himself against Ewan's form, using his body weight to pin him to the ground. In all of the commotion Sir Ewan's helmet had rolled off of his head. Valiant kept him pinned down for a moment or two before standing. He aimed a forceful hit to Ewan's shield before standing up. The crowd cheered as Valiant declared himself the winner.

While the crowd cheered, Sir Ewan remained motionless on the dirt. A sudden tightness crept up into the pit of Adrielle's stomach. She hadn't been able to see everything that had transpired on the field, but she had a feeling Valiant had somehow greatly injured Sir Ewan.

"Here's our cue," Gaius whispered into Adrielle's ear, tapping on her shoulder as he did. She nodded and followed behind him as they made their way to the middle of the field. As she neared Sir Ewan it became even more evident that he was not well. A normal human being shouldn't be that still under normal circumstances. Adrielle felt her heart rate pick up as Gaius began to examine Sir Ewan's still body.

"How do you assess this situation, Gaius?" Adrielle asked as she kneeled down next to him.

"I'll need him to be taken back to our chambers to examine and treat him fully," Gaius said, looking over Ewan's body quickly. He motioned for two guards to come and directed them just as he had Adrielle. The guards returned quickly with a stretcher, two planks of wood with a strong piece of fabric strung between the two posts. Sir Ewan was placed on the stretcher and taken out of the ring.

Back in their chambers Gaius was able to examine Sir Ewan at his leisure.

"What is it, Gaius? What do you think is the matter with him?" Adrielle questioned as she took a seat next to Gaius.

"I can't be sure. Were you able to see what happened while Valiant had him pinned to the ground?"

"Er, no. I couldn't see anything that happened. Why?" she asked again.

"Well, it's just that all of his symptoms are synonymous with poisoning," Gaius explained.

" _Poisoning?_ What sort of symptoms are those?" Adrielle asked.

"Slow pulse, fever, paralysis. Here give me your hand," Gaius took her outstretched hand and molded her fingers so her first two fingers were still pointing out. He moved her hand so her fingers came to rest on the inside of Ewan's wrist. "Now concentrate. You're looking for a faint pulse under your fingers. It's usually much more obvious, the pulse, but since he is dying-"

"He's dying?" Adrielle repeated quickly.

"I'm afraid so."

Adrielle concentrated her senses into her fingers straining to feel the presence of life, no matter how sparse it was, coursing through Ewan's veins. The first time his pulse beat she wasn't sure she felt it. She was sure she was missing it completely, but as she concentrated further she recognized a faint pulse nearly unnoticeable.

Merlin suddenly came barreling through the doors. His arms were full of Arthur's armour, but it didn't seem to faze him. His face was mired with concern and worry for the dying knight on the cot.

"How is he?" Merlin asked as he dumped the armour onto the ground.

"It's most odd. See these two small wounds here?" Gaius said while pointing to a spot on the right side of the knight's neck. Adrielle hadn't noticed those before. They looked fairly nasty and somehow familiar. She had seen wounds similar to this earlier.

"They look like the wounds Daniel received the other day," Adrielle said suddenly.

"The man who was bit by a spider. Good," Gaius praised.

"So you're saying he was bitten by a spider?" Merlin questioned.

"No. His symptoms are not consistent with any spider bite I know of. His wounds look almost like snake bites," Gaius corrected.

"How could he have been bitten by a snake? He was injured in a sword fight!" Merlin was at a loss for words just as Gaius was for an explanation.

"As I told Adrielle the symptoms are consistent with poisoning. Especially snake poison."

"Is there any cure? Any way we can save him?" Adrielle nearly begged.

"I'd have to extract the venom from the snake that bit him in order to make a remedy," he explained.

"What if we can't find the snake that bit him? Is there any way of saving him without the venom?" Adrielle pressed.

"I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do. He will die," Gaius sighed, feeling defeated. Adrielle shrunk back into her seat. Just the other day she had encountered a fairly nasty spider bite, but her and Gaius were able to save the man in question. Now she had to sit by and watch a man die of a similar cause. She had absolutely no idea how he could have been bitten by a snake. At least not while in the middle of a sword fight. She looked over at her brother, wondering if he had any better ideas. As Adrielle looked at him, she could see him trying to work out the same details. Merlin looked to be deep in thought, trying to rack his brain quickly for a solution.

"He was fighting Knight Valiant," he said quietly.

"What?" Adrielle asked. She had heard him clearly, but she didn't understand what he meant by that. Merlin seemed to know exactly what he meant and how that piece of knowledge was special to the situation.

"I'll be back," Merlin said suddenly. He jumped out of his chair so fast he almost caused it to tumble to the ground. Before Gaius could ask where he was going, Merlin was out the door and on his way.

~xx~

When Merlin returned to his chambers he looked like he had seen a ghost. Adrielle was tending to Sir Ewan's fever by patting a wet cloth on his forehead.

"He's using magic," Merlin breathed quickly.

"Come again?" Gaius asked confused.

"Valiant. He's using magic to cheat in the tournament," Merlin repeated.

"Just because we have magic doesn't mean every other magical being in the universe is suddenly going to come to us and threaten Camelot," Adrielle tried to reason.

"Are you sure?" Gaius interjected.

"The snake that bit Sir Ewan, it was from Valiant's shield. I've seen them. He's using magic to make them come to life. I saw one of them blink earlier today. I thought I was going mad but I'm not. I went to Valiant's chambers and saw them. They came to life- they came  _out_  of the shield and ate a mouse, straight down. One bite. Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed. It must have been one of the snakes from the shield," Merlin reported quickly.

"Is there  _any_  chance you might be mistaken?" Gaius questioned.

"I know magic when I see it. I have to tell Arthur."

"Perhaps, but do you have any proof?" Gaius pushed again.

"What, don't you believe me? Adrielle?" Merlin asked in disbelief.

"I…I don't know Merlin. I don't know what you saw," Adrielle admitted.

"What?! I  _told_  you what I saw! Snakes coming to life  _magically_  at Valiant's command!"

"I fear you'll land yourself in trouble," Gaius spoke up. "How will you explain why you were in Valiant's chambers?"

Merlin faltered for a second. He hadn't actually thought about that part. "What does that matter? He's using magic to cheat in the tournament!"

"But you can't go accusing a knight of using magic without proof! The King would never accept the word of a servant over that of a knight's. You should know this," Gaius lectured.

"What? So what I say doesn't count for anything?" Merlin uttered in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it counts for very little as far as the King is concerned."

Merlin glared at Gaius for a moment before sighing unhappily. He turned to retreat to his room as Adrielle spoke up.

"Look, Merlin. Gaius is right. The King probably wouldn't believe anyone if their only evidence was eyewitness. Maybe if you had some proof that proved that he was using magic without any hint of reasonable doubt," she offered. Adrielle could guess fairly easily how Merlin was feeling. She had no idea what he had seen, that was true, but he was stubborn. Whatever he saw, whether it was magical snakes on a shield or not, it was something he had never seen before. Something that was frightening and dangerous. Back home in Ealdor people would have at least taken his word into account.  _You say you saw bandits out in the forest? We'll send some of our toughest men to investigate!_

But Merlin could say anything he wanted to the King, whether it be true or false, and he wouldn't believe him. No one would. Adrielle could feel the injustice nagging at her but she had to push it aside. Gaius had lived in Camelot his entire life. He had been exposed to the things that separated the classes of nobility and commoner. Gaius had learned his place and knew it well. Merlin and Adrielle, on the other hand, and only been in Camelot a week. Merlin had only been Arthur's servant for a few days. Adrielle didn't necessarily like it, how low she and her brother seemed to be on the totem pole of life in Camelot, but that's how it was. She feared it would take Merlin his entire lifetime to learn and accept this was his place as well.

The following morning Gaius had offered to stay back and tend to Sir Ewan. Adrielle was to go to the tournament and keep an eye on things, Valiant included. If another incident were to occur, whether it be by magic or not, she was instructed to have the man in question brought to his chambers so he could examine them further.

She hadn't gotten much else out of her brother. Merlin had given her a bit of the cold shoulder for the rest of the night. He barely spoke to her, only out of necessity. When she had awoken in the morning she found his bed empty again. He had gathered Arthur's armour up almost silently and left without a word to either Gaius or Adrielle.

By the time she arrived to the pitch the next round of matches for the day had already begun. Prince Arthur was suited up in his armour and was making his way to the field. Waiting for him was his opponent who was nearly twice his size. Not round wise, but vertically. The knight Arthur was about to face was practically the size of a bear. Adrielle wasn't sure what the outcome of this match would be, but she secretly hoped that Arthur would pull out victorious has he had henceforth.

Adrielle spotted her brother a ways ahead of her. He was looking at something, or someone, on the other side of one of the tents. She started making her way towards him when he looked up and spotted her. He stepped back to his starting position and tried to look interested in the strap of his bag.

"Morning, Merlin," she said trying to sound diplomatic. He glanced her way, eyes still focused on the strap.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"How are you getting on?" Adrielle continued.

"Oh just fine. Just keeping my head down, doing my job, minding my own business. Don't worry; I'm not going to meddle in anybody's business today. Even if it could save their life." Merlin kept his eyes down as he walked passed Adrielle. She sighed and decided to let him be for now. Adrielle walked up and stopped at the entrance to the pitch; the spot she had stood in for several days now. She watched as Arthur ducked and weaved around his opponent's blows. The man he was dueling, the one the size of a bear, was much slower than Arthur. Arthur was at an advantage and was able to quickly and skillfully take down his opponent. The crowd cheered as their prince secured himself a spot in the finals.

The last fight of the day of Valiant's. With his brute force and strength he seemed to beat his foe in no time. Adrielle tensed as Valiant used his shield to push the other knight to the ground. Possibly there was a small part of her that believed what Merlin was saying. Under normal circumstances she would have thought that he was going mental, but Adrielle no longer seemed to find herself in 'normal' circumstances. She had seen a dragon beneath the city, had it  _speak_  to her foretelling of her great destiny she and her brother shared. She had seen a witch change her appearance to gain entry into the feast celebrating the Great Purge. Adrielle had even seen that same witch lull everyone to sleep with her magic and attempt to assassinate the prince, and that had all been within her first couple of days in Camelot! Perhaps her brother was telling the truth.

The crowd cheered as their new favorite competitor, aside from Arthur, exited the field, concluding today's matches. Adrielle started to leave with departing crowd when she saw Merlin standing off by Arthur's now empty tent.

"Valiant's going to fight Arthur in the final. He'll use the shield to kill him," Merlin said seriously.

"We can't let that happen," Adrielle replied.

"What about needing proof?"

"We'll just have to find some. Some incredibly damn good proof."

"And how do you suggest that?" Merlin questioned.

"I haven't quite got that bit figured out yet," Adrielle admitted.

The two siblings quickly made their way back to their chambers and to the knight who lie dying on their cot. Adrielle couldn't believe it, but somehow Sir Ewan looked like he was even more still than he had been last time she saw him. She wasn't sure how a man who was suffering from paralysis could appear to be even more paralyzed than before, but Sir Ewan fit the bill. His face seemed to be paler and his body seemed to move less and less with each of his living breaths. She could practically see the life escaping from his body.

"How is he?" Adrielle asked almost as soon as they entered the room.

"Not well. Without an antidote he should be dead within the night," Gaius said, taking off his classes dejectedly. "Merlin, about what I said yesterday…Uther really wouldn't believe you or me for that fact, but we can't let Valiant get away with this."

"He's set to fight Arthur in the final match tomorrow," Adrielle addressed.

"Then it seems we must stop Valiant," Gaius confirmed.

"Guys you're forgetting one thing. We  _still_  don't have any proof that he's using magic," Merlin reminded the two of them bitterly. Adrielle folded her bottom lip in and bit on it subconsciously. There must be  _some_  way for them to obtain some proof; some real, inexcusable, proof that Valiant was using magic.

"What if we could cure Ewan? He could tell the King that Valiant was using magic. He had firsthand experience. If titles matter so much then the King would surely believe the word of a knight, right?" Adrielle hypothesized.

"The problems still remains, my dear. How do we get the antidote? We still need venom from the snake that bit him. A snake that rests on the shield of Valiant," Gaius said matter of factly. Adrielle sat herself on a bench at took a moment to think. At this point she really wasn't sure what to do. Somehow, they'd have to get one of the snakes from Valiant's shield  _off_  of the shield in order to extract the venom, but she was at a loss for how even someone like her was meant to accomplish that. She looked over at Merlin and could see the gears in his head starting to work.

"I'll be right back," he said suddenly.

"Whatever you've got planned up your sleeve I'm coming to help," Adrielle said determinedly. She stood up, prepared to not take no for an answer, but was met with Merlin's appreciative smile. The two twins headed off quickly, Gaius bidding them farewell with, "Just be careful, you two."

The two young siblings made their way quickly and quietly through the castle, trying not to stir up any suspicion. If they landed themselves in the dungeons for the night they would never be able to get the antidote, expose Valiant, or save Ewan and Arthur.

"Which way is Valiant's bedchambers?" Adrielle asked in a hushed voice.

"They're on the second floor, but we have to make sure he's not anywhere near there first," Merlin explained, his voice just as soft as hers.

"And how do we go about doing that, exactly?"

"Make sure he's preoccupied, of course. Arthur mentioned something about dining in the council chambers. The finalists would be joining the dinner with his father. Arthur's there of course-"

"And Valiant," Adrielle finished. Merlin looked at her and nodded. The two were able to sneak into the council chambers through the back door, which was used by the servants to come and go as needed. They were able to hide discreetly behind a pillar as the men dined.

"So Valiant," King Uther spoke. Even in casual situations the King's voice was still loud and commanding. "Do you think you stand a chance of defeating my son?"

"He is a great warrior, my lord. I do hope to be a worthy opponent," he said smoothly.

Adrielle scoffed internally.  _True knights don't win by using magic and cheating. They most certainly are not a worthy opponent if they have to kill just to win._

"You should stay in Camelot after the tournament. I could do with more knights like you," Uther said before taking a sip from his chalice.

"I would be honored, my lord," Valiant said humbly.

"Ha. You won't be thinking the same of our  _dear Knight Valiant_  when he's attempted to kill your son," Adrielle barely breathed under her breath. Thankfully Merlin was the only one who was able to hear her. He tapped on her shoulder lightly and nodded to the exit. Valiant would be indisposed with his meal for awhile. It surely lent them enough time to extract venom from his beloved snake.

They reached Valiant's guest chambers quickly. They made sure to check and double check around every corner that no one was going to be able to catch them. When they reached the door Adrielle looked at it slowly.

"It's locked," she realized quickly. "Now what are we going to do?"

Merlin stepped in and focused on the lock. He stretched out his hand and quietly whispered, " _Aliese_."

The door handle suddenly slid until it was unlocked. Merlin looked back at his sister, proud that he was able to achieve that with his magic. He might have just unlocked a door, but it was a barrier they were able to overcome in the larger picture of saving Arthur's life.

"Okay, you're going to have to give up that magic book at some point so I can practice. That's wicked."

"Thanks. Now, you stay here and keep guard. Make sure neither Valiant nor anybody else comes in here, okay?"

"Yes alright I'll be the lookout just hurry up and get the venom," Adrielle whispered hastily, pushing her brother into the empty room.

Merlin crept quietly into the knight's empty room. The shield was left on a chair facing the door. It was almost as if it was on placed on a pedestal to be admired and glorified. Merlin picked up a sword and kept it pointed towards the dormant shield as he edged closer to it cautiously. The only times he had seen the snakes come to life themselves was when Valiant was in command. How Merlin was supposed to get the snakes to come to life by himself, he wasn't sure.

He touched the tip of his sword to the shield, running it down the length of the shield and over the three snakes that sat there, but nothing happened. The snakes remained simple pictures painted on. Inanimate. Out in the hallway Adrielle could hear the faint sound of footsteps getting louder. She crept towards the corner of the corridor where she thought the sounds would be coming from. Sure enough, rounding the corner at the far end of the corridor was the snake Valiant himself. Adrielle gasped and quickly ran back to the guest chambers Valiant would soon be entering.

"I told you to keep watch!" Merlin hissed when Adrielle came flying into the room, shutting the door tightly behind her.

"He's on his way! Valiant!" Adrielle hissed hastily.

"What?! Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now hurry up and get the dang snake head!" As Adrielle spoke, she watched as one of the snakes uncoiled itself from its painted position on the shield, ready to strike. Her eyes widened in horror, alerting Merlin that something behind him was out of place. He turned around just in time to see the snake stretching closer to him. Merlin swung the sword quickly, successfully chopping the head of the snake off. The disembodied snake slunk back into its eternal home. Merlin dropped the sword suddenly and snatched the snake head up. The twins ran out of the room and were out of sight before Valiant rounded the corner closest to his chambers.

~xx~

Gaius accepted the disturbing snake head when Adrielle and Merlin returned back to their chambers.

"I'll start preparing an antidote," Gaius said. He picked jar and begun to extract the venom from the snake. It poured steadily from the fangs into the jar.

"I'm going to tell Arthur," Merlin announced.

"Here, you'll want this," Adrielle said while picking the snake head up . She tossed it to him carefully, mindful of the still deadly fangs.

"Merlin," Gaius said before Merlin left. "What you did was very brave." Merlin smiled faintly before scurrying out of the room.

Gaius began to hurriedly and carefully prepare the life saving antidote for Sir Ewan. Adrielle hung back in the side lines mindful to keep out of the way. She was sure Gaius would someday teach her this preparation, but perhaps not when time was of the essence. She watched quietly as Gaius ran around the room, collecting these ingredients and those items.

Adrielle couldn't tell how much time had passed while Gaius worked. Every now and then he would ask her to fetch something for him or help him another way. She, of course, agreed obediently. At some point Sir Leon came in and alerted Gaius to the fact that Arthur had requested the King's presence in the council chambers. Gaius waved him off and sent him on his way.

"Looks like Merlin was able to get through to Arthur," Adrielle noted as Gaius finished up the potion.

"Yes. Now we just have to have to hope that the King will believe Sir Ewan's story." Gaius picked up a small cup that contained the anti-venom antidote. He hurried over to Sir Ewan's side, Adrielle closely on his heels. Gaius stuck a thick swab into the liquid and carefully dabbed it onto Ewan's lips. Adrielle waited for the potion to work, her breath held in nervous anticipation. Slowly Ewan's eyes fluttered open and his breathing became stronger. Adrielle let out a sigh of relief and smiled happily.

"Welcome back," Gaius said. Ewan, still lethargic and sick, turned his attention to Gaius.

"There was a snake on his shield. It came alive. It…it bit me," Sir Ewan said slowly.

"You're weak. The snake venom is still in your body."

"I must warn Arthur," Ewan said determinedly. He made to get up but Gaius pushed him gently back onto the cot.

"Arthur already knows. He's requested an audience with the King. They'll want to talk to you. Now rest. You'll need your strength. I need to go collect some more herbs. Adrielle, if you could look after Ewan while I'm gone." Adrielle nodded as Gaius stood to leave the room.

"How am I still alive?" Sir Ewan asked, closing his eyes and trying to recollect his strength.

"Gaius was able to prepare an antidote from the snake's venom. My brother and I were able to cut the head off one of the snakes," she explained plainly. The knight began to smack his lips, his mouth dry and parched. "Oh, you must be thirsty. I can only imagine lying in bed without water. I'll go fetch you glass of water. I'll be right back."

Adrielle grabbed a cup and hurried out of the room. She scampered down the hall and around a corner before the found the closest source of fresh water. She dipped the cup into the cold fresh water before she hurried back. When she arrived back into the room she saw one of the snakes from Valiant's shield attacking Sir Ewan's neck.

"No!" Adrielle shrieked. She dropped the cup in shock and sent it to the ground with a loud clatter and splash. She looked around the room quickly for something, anything, to attack the snake with. This was the only way to expose Valiant and save Arthur; she couldn't let Sir Ewan die now. She slipped on the pile of water she had just dropped and landed hard on her knees. She cursed ; under normal circumstances she knew she would have to hold her tongue of obscenities in the presence of someone higher up than her, but his life was on the line. She stood up shakily and grabbed a small cutting knife from the table. She ran over to Sir Ewan's side and knocked the snake away with her blade. The snake landed on the floor with little damage to itself. It bared it's fangs at Adrielle and hissed menacingly; Adrielle hissed at it in return. She swung her knife again at the snake before it slithered past her quickly and out the door back to its master's shield.

Adrielle started to move to follow the snake out when she remembered Arthur's last hope was more than likely dying on the cot. She dropped the knife back down on the table and switched it out for the remainder of the antidote. Adrielle ran to Sir Ewan's side and began to dab the potion onto his lip frantically.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she whispered desperately. She watched and waited for him to open his eyes, breathe in deeply, something to tell her that he was waking up again. She recalled what Gaius had said about checking for a pulse. Adrielle fumbled with her fingers as she went to feel for Sir Ewan's pulse. She closed her eyes and waited.

 _Come on, please live_.

She willed all of her concentration and senses into trying to feel his pulse just like she had the other day. Adrielle waited and waited for even the faintest signs of life. But she felt nothing. No heartbeat, no breathing, nothing. His heart had stopped beating right before her eyes.

She sat back in her chair utterly dumbstruck for a second. She couldn't believe that Gaius had cured Sir Ewan and then in the twenty seconds Adrielle was gone he had been attacked and now laid dead in front of her. This was all her fault. It was her fault that Sir Ewan had died, their only absolute evidence to condemn Valiant. To save Arthur. Gaius had told her to look after Ewan while he was out and in that short amount of time she had managed to let him die.

"I'm afraid this potion tastes like toad water, but it'll get you back on your feet," Gaius said as he entered into the room.

"Gaius!" Adrielle said quickly. She jumped up out of her seat and raced over to his side.

"What is it, Adrielle? What's happened?"

"It-it's Ewan. He's…he's dead," Adrielle whispered.

"What? How did that happen?"

"I'm so sorry it's all my fault!" Adrielle started quickly. "I thought he might like some water so I went to fetch him some and when I came back he was dead! One of the snakes from Valiant's shield must have followed us here and bit him again. I tried to kill it but it just ran off instead. I tried to give Ewan more antidote but it didn't work!"

"Sh, it's alright my child," Gaius said while embracing the girl. He could clearly see how shaken up she was. "It's not your fault. It's just lucky the snake wasn't able to bite you. You and your brother are precious."

"What are we going to do about Arthur though? He's already called council with his father."

"Perhaps there's a chance the King will still believe him. He his is son after all," Gaius pulled back and looked at Adrielle, his hands still on her shoulders. "You must go and see what happens. Let Merlin know that Sir Ewan is, regrettably, dead. I'll stay here and…well…take care of this."

Adrielle nodded and pulled herself back together. She wiped her face of the few tears that had found their way onto her face and hurried off to the council chambers.


	6. Chapter 6

_Valiant: Part 3_

The mood in the chambers was tense when Adrielle arrived. She had a terrible feeling that nothing was going as planned.

"Let me see the shield," the King commanded. Valiant picked up his shield and held it out in front of him. Merlin, who was near the front at Arthur's side, leaned in and whispered something to his master.

"Be careful, my lord," Arthur said warningly as he drew his sword. The King looked over the shield, let his fingers glide over the images of the snakes, and yet nothing happened.

"Merlin," Adrielle called out quietly. She could see her brother growing concerned and fidgety at Arthur's side. Both men turned to look at the young girl who stood nervously in the council chambers.

"We need Ewan. Find out what's happened," Arthur whispered to Merlin. He nodded and moved to where his sister stood.

"What is it, Adrielle? Where's Ewan?" Merlin asked.

"He's dead," Adrielle sighed.

"What? How? Did the antidote not work?" Merlin continued, his voice hushed but becoming more urgent.

"No, it worked beautifully. Ewan was alive and well. He was recovering brilliantly. Gaius went out to get herbs to help Ewan get back on his feet and I went out to fetch him some fresh water. One of the snakes must have followed us back. I was gone nearly thirty seconds and when I come back the snake had bitten him again! I tried to give Ewan some more antidote but nothing worked. The second dose of venom must have been too strong for his body to take. It killed him instantly," Adrielle recounted quietly. Her voice was quiet and fast.

Merlin stared at his sister for a second before folding his face in his hands.

"You absolutely sure he's dead?" Merlin asked once more, hopeful that there had been some sort of mistake.

"Positive. I checked for a pulse myself; nothing. I'm sure Gaius would have stormed in here by now had I been wrong," Adrielle confirmed. "I'm so sorry."

"What are we going to do now? Curing Ewan was our only foolproof way to convince the King. He's never going to believe us now," Merlin sighed. The two twins pulled their bottom lip in to chew on it almost in unison.

"Where is this witness?" the King asked. Adrielle met her brother's

"He should…be here," Arthur stalled. He turned to look at his servant and Adrielle, both of whom shared similar looks of disappointment. Arthur turned and quickly made his way to the twins.

" _Where's Ewan_?" Arthur pressed. Adrielle looked from Arthur back to her brother. She wasn't sure why, but she just didn't have the heart to break it to Arthur. By some miracle he had trusted Merlin on his word alone, possibly the abnormally large snake head too, and he had let him down.  _We let him down_ , Adrielle thought. It was their shared destiny to protect Arthur and they had  _both_  let him down.

Adrielle looked at Arthur quickly before averting her eyes to the ground. She shook her head miserably.

"He's dead," Merlin said disheartened. Adrielle looked back up to see the light and fire fade from Arthur's eyes.

"I'm waiting!" Uther ordered. Arthur glanced at the siblings before turning back around to face the court. He could feel his confidence draining through his body and pooling around his feet. He approached his father slowly before speaking.

"I'm afraid the witness is dead."

"So you have no proof to support these allegations? Have you seen Valiant using magic?" the King demanded. Arthur fumbled for a second to find words.

"No, but my servant fought one of the snakes-"

"Your  _servant_?"

"His sister was also there as a witness!"

"You make the outrageous accusations based on the words of your  _servant_  and his  _sister!_  You take the word of two commoners over the word of a knight!" Uther blared. Adrielle could see the base of his neck growing redder and redder.

"I believe they are telling the truth," Arthur cried.

"My Lord, am I really to be judged on some hearsay from a boy and his sister?" Valiant sneered.

"I've seen those snakes come alive!" Merlin interjected, taking a step forward.

"Merlin," Adrielle warned.

"How  _dare_  you interrupt us!" the King screeched. " _Guards_!" Two guards marched forward and grabbed a hold of Merlin's arm and began to drag him away.

"Please, my Lord, what he says is true," Adrielle said despite the nervous shake her vocal chords gave.

"Hold your tongue girl or I will have it cut out for you," Uther snarled, turning his attention to the young girl. Adrielle shrunk back into the crowd and ducked her head down. She couldn't let Arthur be killed at the hand of this snake, but what was she to do now? They had  _no_  evidence that the King would believe and Merlin was being dragged off into the dungeons. Adrielle couldn't help but feel nearly two feet tall as the King berated her and her brother.

"My lord," Valiant interjected. The King held up his hand to halt the guards. "I'm sure the boy and girl were merely mistaken. I'd hate for them to be punished on my account."

"You see?" The King said, speaking directly to Arthur now. "This is how a  _true_  knight behaves. With honor and gallantry." The colour seemed to slowly drain from Arthur's face. Adrielle wasn't sure if she was good at catching the subtle change or if it was just that obvious. A muscle in Arthur's jaw twitched and then tensed.

"My Lord, if your son made these accusations because he's afraid to fight me then I will gladly accept his withdrawal."

"Is this true?" the King asked, astonished. He would never believe his son to act in such a cowardly way. Another muscle in Arthur's face twitched.

"No!" Arthur objected angrily.

"Then what am I to make of these allegations?" Uther roared, still staring hard at his son. Arthur swallowed hard and hesitated a moment trying to regain a solid composure. He looked around the council chambers once; at Morgana and Gwen, at his father and Valiant, at Merlin and the guards, and lastly Adrielle.

"Obviously there has been a mistake," Arthur started slowly. "I…I withdraw the allegations against Knight Valiant. Please accept my apology."

"Accepted."

Arthur re-sheathed his sword and made his way quickly to the door, making sure to grab Merlin by his jacket on the way out.

~xx~

Adrielle didn't follow after Merlin and Arthur to wait for them nor did she go back to her chambers. She wasn't sure if Gaius had removed Sir Ewan's body or not yet, but it didn't matter. She didn't want to sit in that room right now. Adrielle had never experienced this sort of disappointment, this level of being let down before. She was at a dead end and couldn't find another way out. There had been so much tension building up to this point. The tournament and Knight Valiant's victories, Merlin discovering Valiant wasn't all that he seemed. They thought they had all the evidence they needed, but they were really just grasping around for proof. And what for? The few strands they had managed to grasp slipped through their fingers without much of a fight and now they had nothing.

Adrielle was sitting on one of the sets of stairs within the citadel when felt a gentle presence sit beside her, followed by Gwen's soft voice.

"Hello, Adrielle."

"Hi, Gwen," Adrielle responded.

"Is what Merlin said about Valiant true? Is he really using magic?" Gwen asked in disbelief. Adrielle nodded in confirmation. It even seemed to baffle Adrielle. "I can't believe it."

"I know, I can hardly believe it and I've seen it first hand,"Adrielle responded. She pulled her knees to her chest, rested her arms on her knees, and her head on her arms. She had to admit, it was a crazy accusation to make.

"What are you going to do?"

Adrielle let out a soft chortle. "Why is it  _me_  who has to do something about it?"

"Well, someone has to. Either you or Merlin or the pair of you. You're the only two who have actually seen Valiant using magic. If someone can't stop him before tomorrow well..." Gwen started. She trailed off unable to finish her own sentence.

"Arthur will die."

Even as Adrielle said it her voice sounded distant from herself. Arthur had said it himself only yesterday; most people wouldn't show him any special treatment in the arena, mainly because they wanted him dead. She absentmindedly wondered how often these things happened to Arthur. How often did people impersonate as someone they really were not just to get close enough to Arthur to kill him? And how often was  _magic_  involved? Maybe that was the reason King Uther despised magic so much. Maybe someone with magic used it against either him or his son, threatening their lives. There must have been something that set him off.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Adrielle," Gwen said, touching Adrielle's shoulder softly. "I'm afraid I must attend to Lady Morgana. Good luck, Adrielle, I'll see you later." Gwen stood and ascended the stairs once more.

Adrielle was left to her thoughts once more. It had seemed hard enough before to come up with a solution for unmasking Valiant, so to say, the first time. Now that their plan involving Sir Ewan was out their task seemed almost inevitable impossible. They had to do something to save Arthur; it was their destiny after all.

Another body came and sat down next her on the steps, this time it was Merlin.

"How are you then?" Adrielle asked. She had an idea of how his response would go. She could see his foul mood on his face.

"Just great. Arthur says he was a fool to trust me, he's sacked me, I tried to go to the dragon for help but he was useless. Just gave me another riddle that makes absolutely no sense," Merlin sighed resentfully.

"Lovely," Adrielle said. "What are we going to do?"

"We? What do you mean  _we_?"

"I mean you and I, numskull. We have to do something to fix this."

"Why does it have to come down to us?"

"Because it does! It's part of our destiny! We have to show everybody that we were right and they were wrong."

"Right, our destinies," Merlin mocked. "Whatever the dragon said about our destinies is rubbish. How can we save somebody who hates the pair of us? Every time I try and ask him for help he just answers with another riddle!"

"So our destinies are riddles, wrapped inside mysteries, inside of enigmas. We could spend our entire lives trying to figure out logically what we're suppose to do and while we're off pondering all day enemies will sneak in and try to kill Arthur. Whatever our mystical destinies are I know one thing; it's to save Arthur. I can't give you more explanation than that, I'm sorry. Our gifts are to help us save Arthur," Adrielle preached.

"That was a brilliant speech but how do we use our  _gifts_  to save Arthur?" Merlin cornered. Adrielle slumped back down into her arms.

"I don't know. You're the one who's had the most time with that book. You must have seen something that could help," Adrielle replied. She watched as Merlin scanned the courtyard trying to rack his brain for something that would be helpful. His eyes narrowed on an object behind Adrielle as an idea came to him.

"Actually, I think I might have an idea," he said, standing up slowly, eyes still focused behind his sister. He hurried over to a dog statue that stood behind her. Merlin wrapped his arms around the middle of the statue and struggled to lift it. "Do you have a wheelbarrow?"

"Did you see me carrying a wheelbarrow when we came here just a week ago? No, I haven't got a wheelbarrow. Merlin, what are you on about? What's this idea of yours?" Adrielle questioned.

"Help me carry this," Merlin said, pointing to the statue, "and I'll tell you when we get back to our room." Adrielle stared at her brother a moment before joining him at the statue. The two groaned and struggled to lift the bulky statue. After a few minutes of arguing and complaining the two siblings reached a compromise and were able to lift the statue and shuffle their way towards their chambers.

~xx~

By the time they had reached their chambers, Adrielle's body felt like it was on fire. With Merlin's cooperation they had been able to lift the statue without much trouble, but having to carry it halfway across the castle was the real challenge. The muscles in her arms, shoulders, lower back, and legs all burned and ached from excess strain. They set the statue down in the corner of their shared bedroom by Adrielle's bed. She sighed with relief and collapsed onto her bed.

"Now what is your genius plan?" Adrielle gasped. She watched Merlin pull out the magic book and starting flipping through the pages.

"We're going to let everyone see the snakes for themselves," Merlin said, eyes still focused on the pages he was flipping through.

"And how exactly does our magic come into effect here?"

"I think I remember seeing something," Merlin started. "Aha! Here it is! The animation spell! If we can animate the snakes ourselves without anyone knowing, then we'll be able to expose Valiant ourselves!"

"And save Arthur!" Adrielle added.

"Yeah, yeah," Merlin acknowledged. "Okay, I found it. The spell is  _berbay odothay arisan cwicum_." Merlin and Adrielle looked up at the dog expectantly.

Nothing.

"Here let me try," Adrielle said. She peeled herself off of her bed and sat back down next to Merlin. " _Berbay odothay arisan cwicum_."

Again, nothing happened.

"Maybe we just need a little practice," Adrielle suggested.

For what seemed like hours the twins sat on the bed and took turns reciting the animation spell with no success. They tried pronouncing it differently, changing how they stressed the words, changing the tone in their voice. Nothing they did seemed to work. The only thing that changed were their moods. As the night came and progressed the twins only became grouchier and more restless.

"This is hopeless," Adrielle sighed, letting her face fall forward so she was laying face first on Merlin's bed. Long ago Adrielle had changed out of her dress into her trousers and tunic to sleep in. For some reason she had anticipated mastering this spell before they retired for the night. She had at least imagined  _learning_  it! The dog was still a stone statue and had refused to yield at all.

"We just need a little more practice, that's all," Merlin said. Although he tried to say it in a positive light, Adrielle could still hear the frustration in his voice. Adrielle let her body relax as she lied on the bed. Her muscles were still sore from carrying that statue. They were supposed to be these great big sorcerers with an enormous destiny riding on their shoulders, but they couldn't even manage a simple animation spell. She didn't actually know if it was an easy spell for someone at their level to master, but you would think with two people practicing it  _something_  would have happened by now. She racked her brain once more for any other sort of solution to this problem. She had an anxious feeling that this plan wasn't going to work out well.

Adrielle sat up suddenly, a thought striking her, and headed towards her cupboard.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked.

"I'm going to go try and talk to Arthur. See if I can convince him to drop out of the tournament," she answered. She pulled out a simple dark cloak and threw it around her shoulders, tying it at her neck.

"He's not going to listen," Merlin nagged.

"I have to try. We might not be able to master this animation spell in time. It's the only other option." Adrielle pulled her hair back so it was behind her shoulders and pulled the hood up over her head.

The walk to Arthur's chambers was short and quick. Maybe it was her black cloak that made her feel swift. She seemed to disappear into the shadows and move within them. When she reached his door it was open. She paused in the doorway and watched as Arthur stood pensive in front of the blazing fire. He glanced up shortly when he noticed her presence.

"I thought I told you to get out of my sight," he snapped halfheartedly. His gaze had returned back to the flames that burned before him.

Adrielle furrowed her eyebrows at him, confused. She realized suddenly that her given appearance probably closely resembled that of Merlin's. She was wearing her male clothing, the hood of her cloak shielded her face, and her hair was still pulled back behind her face. She sighed as she pulled her hood down and revealed that she was  _not_  her brother.

Arthur watched as the person he thought to be Merlin pulled down their hood and suddenly transformed into a woman. He recognized Adrielle as her dark locks came flowing out from underneath her hood. It was strange to see her in a man's attire. Her dark cape had disguised her pleasant features perfectly. He might not have even known it was her until she spoke.

"What are you doing here, Adrielle?" Arthur asked his voice much more civil now.

"You can't compete tomorrow," she said taking a step out of the doorway and into Arthur's room.

"Did Merlin put you up to this?" Arthur scoffed.

"No, he didn't. In fact he doesn't think you'll listen to me."

"Looks like he finally got something right," Arthur said a bit bitterly.

"Arthur, you  _can't_  compete tomorrow," she repeated. She took a couple steps into the room until she stood almost right next to Arthur. "If you fight against Valiant tomorrow he will use the shield against you and… and kill you."

"I know," Arthur said with a deep breath.

"Then withdraw! You have to withdraw," Adrielle pleaded.

"Don't you understand? I can't! The people expect their prince to fight. How can I lead men into battle if they think I'm a coward?"

"Arthur," Adrielle continued. "If you fight you'll die. How can you lead men into battle if you're dead?"

"If I die then I die," Arthur said almost calmly. He looked over at her and their eyes met once again. Adrielle could see the struggle within him clearly. He honestly did know the dangers he would face tomorrow in the arena. He knew that there was a very good chance he wouldn't walk out of there alive, and yet he found a way to compose himself for the most part. It baffled Adrielle. She felt like she wore her heart on her sleeve. Every emotion she encountered showed on her face and in her personality like she were an open book for everyone to read.

"How can you go out there and fight like that? Knowing what's going to happen in the end?" she asked seriously.

"I didn't know you cared so much, Adrielle," Arthur joked lightly.

"Don't flatter yourself,  _sire_ ," she retorted flatly.

"I have to go out there, it's my duty," he said softly. "Who knows? Perhaps I'll be able to take down Valiant before his snakes have a chance to finish me off." He tried to keep the mood lighthearted but was unsuccessful.

"Perhaps," Adrielle whispered. She noticed Arthur's clear blue eyes were still focused on hers and felt a shiver run the course of her body. She swallowed hard before placing what she thought to be a comforting hand on Arthur's upper arm.

"I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow. I've watched you, you're a skilled fighter. Valiant...he's no match for you. Good luck and be careful." Adrielle pulled her hand away quickly, suddenly wondering if it was proper etiquette for her to just touch him like that. She ducked her head and nodded before pulling her hood back up and leaving.

"Adrielle," Arthur said suddenly before she could exit through the door. "It's disturbing how much you looked like you brother when you came in." Adrielle felt her lips quirk up slowly to form a soft but sincere smile.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," she replied. "Goodnight,  _my lord_."

Arthur watched as the girl turned back around and exited his room. He hadn't moved his body the entire time she was in there. He could still feel the spot on his arm where Adrielle had touched him. She had surprised him at first; he hadn't expected either her or her brother to come to him and talk him out of competing. He hadn't expected Adrielle to get so worked up about his life being in jeopardy. She would never admit it, especially not to him, the  _prince_ , but she was genuinely worried about his well being. Arthur couldn't seem to figure out why though. Sure his subjects came to care for their prince and grew a sort of attachment to him, but that generally was gradual. Both Adrielle and Merlin had only been in Camelot for a week or two and yet they seemed to show more loyal compassion for Arthur than many of the people who had grown up in Camelot.

~xx~

Neither Adrielle nor Merlin got much sleep that night. They stayed up for as long as they could trying their hardest to master the animation spell. At some point during the long night Adrielle had drifted off to sleep. The two were seated on the floor in front of the still solid stone statue. Adrielle's head rested on her brother's shoulder while Merlin continued to desperately recite the spell. Adrielle was jolted from her deep sleep as a wet tongue came sliding across her cheek.

"Ugh, Merlin, what do you think you're doing?" she groaned disgustedly. She brought her hand up to her face and wiped it clean.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked. He too was about to fall asleep. The magic book laid open on his lap while his head slowly came to rest on top of his sisters. Another slobbery kiss came streaking across her face.

"Seriously, Merlin,  _stop_!" she cried, eyes still shut tight. "You're being obnoxious."

"I'm not...doing...anything," Merlin sighed. Hot, wet breath came blasting into her face.  _Ugh_ , she groaned internally.  _Merlin you really need to brush your teeth more often_. Suddenly something in front of her barked sending fresh slobber onto her cheek. Both siblings woke up abruptly and were face to face with a real, live, breathing Rottweiler.

"Oh my gosh! Merlin!" Adrielle cried happily. "You did it!" The twins looked at each other, bright grins plastered on their faces. They hugged each other happily before turning their attention back to the dog.

"I did it!" Merlin repeated, still astonished.

"Come on! We have to go now! The tournament is due to start soon!" Adrielle cried while jumping to her feet. The dog wagged his tail and jumped up with her putting his front paws on her thighs.

"You stay here. You can't go out like that, you're not wearing proper clothes!" Merlin criticized. "There's not enough time for you to put on a dress."

"No! I'm not gonna just sit here and wait for things to maybe go wrong. I'll just put my cloak back on and no one will notice. If I pull my hair back right they'll just think I'm another boy. Now come on!"

Adrielle pulled her cloak on quickly and tied her hair back. The pair bolted from the room, making sure to trap the dog in their room. The dog, sad that he could not join his new friends, began to whine and eventually bark desperately. The trek to the tournament grounds wasn't too lengthy, but with time being of the essence combined with their sprint it seemed to take twice as long. When they reached the grounds, panting and out of breath, the final round was already in place.

Both knights fought with renewed ferocity. Arthur, despite having accepted the fact that his death was likely, would not go down quietly without a fight. Valiant, on the other, was furious that the simple minded siblings had found him out. He had no idea how. He assumed it was that nosy servant boy of Arthur's,  _Merlin_ , that was to blame. He had been snooping around where he shouldn't. Valiant should have taken care of him when he had the chance. He would not make that mistake again. When he moment was right he would take out that snarky Prince Arthur. He would die and no one would suspect magic was the cause.

Arthur and Valiant were equally matched in skill. They matched each other blow for blow. When one would advance the other would recoil. Arthur was able to sneak in a blow and knock Valiant's helmet clean off. Valiant backed up to regain himself while pulling off his mail coif. The crowd cheered as Arthur discarded his own helmet and pulled down his coif as well.

Valiant was the first to strike this time. He slammed his foot down onto Arthur's to distract him while he used his shield to punch Arthur in the face. The crowd gasped as their prince fell to the ground. Valiant stepped on Arthur's shield to pin him to the ground so he could deliver his final blow. Arthur struck Valiant's shield with his sword and rolled out of the way just as Valiant's sword came slamming into the ground, striking just where Arthur had been. Arthur quickly stood up and tried to regain his balance but Valiant came at him too fast. Valiant disarmed Arthur and shoved him against the wall, pinning him there with his shield. Adrielle gasped and clutched onto Merlin's arm as Valiant pressed his shield closer to Arthur's neck. Arthur brought his knee up sharp into Valiant's side and was able to push him far away from himself.

When Valiant was a good distance from Arthur Adrielle tugged on her brother's arm and whispered a hasty  _'Now!'_. Merlin stuck his hand out and quietly enchanted  _Berbay odothay arisan cwicum_. In an instant the two remaining snakes sprung to life from Valiant's shield. Everyone apart of Merlin and Adrielle looked shocked to see the knight using magic. Valiant, on the other hand, was confused as to why his pets were attacking.

"What are you doing? I didn't summon you!" Valiant hissed angrily.

"And now everyone can see you for what you really are," Arthur said proudly. Valiant looked at Arthur and smirked.

"Kill him," he commanded. The snakes obeyed and slithered out from his shield onto the ground towards Arthur. They hissed menacingly and struck at him.

"Merlin!" Adrielle shrieked suddenly. "What do we do? We didn't plan this far ahead?" The pair of twins looked around hurriedly and tried to rack their brains for a solution. They had succeeded in revealing the snakes and proving that Valiant was using magic to cheat, but they had been foolish to believe that he would simply give up the competition and turn himself in. His main goal was to kill Arthur. It mattered not if he ended up in prison or dead as long as Arthur was exterminated.

Long before either twin could come up with a plan, Morgana had jumped into action. She withdrew the sword from the knight next to her and threw it to Arthur. He caught it swiftly and was easily able to behead the two remaining snakes. He turned his attention next to Valiant. Their swords stuck once and then twice before Arthur disarmed Valiant and aimed his death blow. He buried his sword deep inside Valiant's abdomen and pulled him closer for good measure.

"Looks like I'll be going to the feast after all," Arthur whispered through gritted teeth. He pulled his sword back out and let Valiant fall to the ground. The crowd began to cheer with renewed satisfaction. Their prince had successfully won the tournament and narrowly missed another scrape with death. Arthur acknowledged the crowd which only caused them to cheer louder. Arthur turned to leave glad that he finally had a chance to relax after literally fighting for his life. He noticed Adrielle and Merlin both standing at the exit of the arena sharing similar looks of relief.

"What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about. Piece of cake," Arthur said to Adrielle as he passed and clapped Merlin on the shoulder.

~xx~

The following evening was the celebration banquet for the tournament champion. Which, of course, ended up being Prince Arthur thanks to the help of Adrielle and Merlin. The crowd chatter aimlessly amongst each other while they waited for the feast to begin. Merlin hadn't originally wanted to attend. He may have saved Arthur's life but he still seemed upset about being sacked. Gaius hardly passed up the chance to eat the assortment of fine food that was provided during these meals. Adrielle was always up for nice food and it was her only chance to eat tonight unless she wanted to prepare her own meal. Merlin, feeling his stomach grumble in anticipation, begrudgingly agreed to attend.

"My honourable guests," Uther called to the room. "I give you Prince Arthur, your champion!" The crowd erupted into applause and cheers. Adrielle smiled and clapped along with the others as Prince Arthur entered into the hall. It was the champions pleasure to escort the Lady Morgana to the feast. Arthur offered her his arm and escorted her to the main table.

"See, I told you. He gets all girls and the glory," Merlin noted quietly to Gaius and his sister.

"And he owes it all to you," Gaius noted.

"Let's just hope Adrielle can contain her jealousy," Merlin remarked.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Adrielle countered defensively.

"I just don't want you to be jealous that every other girl in Camelot seems to be doing a better job at vying for Arthur's hand than you."

" _That_  is one competition I will bow out gracefully from, thank you very much," Adrielle replied. From their position Adrielle could clearly hear the conversation that passed between Arthur and Morgana.

"Has your father apologized for not believing you yet?" Morgana asked.

"He'll never apologize," Arthur admitted. "I hope you're not disappointed that Valiant's not escorting you."

"Turns out he wasn't champion material," Morgana trilled.

"That was some tournament final, wasn't it?"

"Tell me about it. It's not every day a girl gets to save her prince," Morgana replied with a bright smile.

"Uh, I wouldn't exactly say I needed saving," Arthur prattled. "I'm sure I would have thought of something."

"You're too proud to admit you were saved by a girl!" she accused.

"That's because I wasn't," Arthur continued.

"You know what? I wish Valiant was escorting me!"

"Me too! Then I wouldn't have to listen to you," Arthur remarked annoyed .

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Adrielle could hear the two turn and walk in opposite directions of each other. It was funny how quickly the conversation had gone from playful to annoyed. It reminded her a lot of her relationship with Merlin.

"Can you believe it? Morgana says she saved me," Arthur whined grumpily. "Like I needed any help."

Merlin and Adrielle looked from one another almost confounded. Arthur had turned from his conversation with Morgana to whine and complain to them. Adrielle was sure that Arthur had many other actual friends he could complain and gossip with besides these two servants and yet here he was. Maybe they were just the two closest people to him that he could turn to to and vent. The trio stood there for a second in awkward silence.

"I wanted to say that I was sorry and I made a mistake. It was unfair of me to sack you," Arthur said to Merlin. It caught both twins off guard, again, for a second. So the noble Prince Arthur had sought out Merlin to apologize to him in person. Adrielle had assumed Arthur to be just like his father, unable to apologize and accept when he was wrong. She was pleasantly surprised, for now, to see she was wrong about him.

"Don't worry," Merlin shrugged. "Buy me a drink and call it even."

"Uhm, I can't really be seen buying drinks for my servant," Arthur scoffed.

"Your servant? But you sacked me," Merlin reminded.

"Well now I'm rehiring you," Arthur shrugged nonchalantly like it was nothing. Like sacking and hiring new servants was an old pastime of his.

"Y'know you could still buy me a drink," Adrielle suggested.

"I'm not buying you a drink," Arthur shot down.

"Well that's rather rude."

"I'll need you to restart immediately, of course," Arthur directed. "My chambers are a mess. My clothes need washing. My, uh, armour needs repairing. My boots need cleaning. My dogs need exercising. My fireplace needs sweeping. My bed needs changing. And someone needs to muck out my stables."

"Still glad you have your job back?" Adrielle teased while playfully shoving her brother's shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

_The Mark of Nimueh: Part 1_

Adrielle was glad to see that things had settled back down in Camelot. Merlin had resumed his normal duties as Arthur's manservant. The pair acted as if nothing had happened. They didn't linger over the fact that Arthur nearly died or that he had completely sacked Merlin. They behaved like a proper prince and servant pair, more or less. Merlin was getting better at understanding where his place was but a part of him still refused to let the prince walk all over him. She had a feeling it would be interesting to see how the two of them interacted over time.

Even Adrielle's life started to slow down to a normal rate. She continued to follow Gaius on his rounds and continued to study her books on medicine. Whenever Merlin was away tending to the Prince she would take her chance and sneak out their magic book. She couldn't believe how much there was to learn about her powers. There was so much she had been missing out on. She had always just been able to do things based on instinct when she was scared or startled. It utterly amazed her how much she could do with a bit of practice.

Her rounds with Gaius had progressed well over the last couple of weeks. They had returned to Eva's house and helped deliver her baby. It was a sight that would probably remain with Adrielle for quite some time. Despite all that she had witnessed, she was still privileged to see a new life being born in front of her eyes. Adrielle had felt herself on the brink of tears, and maybe a bit of bile, as she watched little Lydia being born.

Adrielle and Guinevere were on the track to becoming close friends. Adrielle was grateful to have a female acquaintance in Camelot. She feared she would be confined to Merlin as her only friendly peer. Sure Merlin was the only one who could relate and understand to the fact that she had magic, for obvious reasons, but it was a welcome change to have another feminine friend to call hers. Adrielle had left another close female friend back in Ealdor and she missed her dearly.

Lydia's birth had been the highlight of Adrielle's life since the tournament and Knight Valiant. Adrielle could feel herself becoming slightly restless. A part of her secretly wished for something more exciting to do. She was becoming bored. She knew that when you got bored you do stupid things. She could think of many instances when Merlin would become bored and get himself into trouble. That's why Adrielle always tried to keep herself busy in Ealdor. As to avoid the boredom and trouble she was bound to get into.

Adrielle and Merlin were both glad to accompany Gaius down to the lower town when a report of something  _odd_  came through. The three of them trekked down to where a man was passed out in the dirt. Most people thought he was just a drunkard; a man who frequented the tavern a little too much and finally reached his limit one night. As they approached the body his limp form hardly looked out of place. Gaius knelt down close to the man's body and began to examine him.

"Aren't you afraid?" Merlin asked.

"Of what?" Gaius replied.

"Of catching whatever it is?"

"I'm Court Physician; it is part of my job. Now come on Adrielle. There's nothing to truly be afraid of," Gaius lectured. The girl in question was still hanging back a safe distance away from the unconscious body. She approached it slowly and knelt down next to the body. "So? What's your diagnosis?"

Adrielle bent down closer to the body and attempted to examine it. She noticed how pale the man's fingernails seemed to be and how his hands were starting to turn disturbing shades of blue and purple. She reached out to pick up his hand and flinched slightly at the touch.

"His hands. They're cold. Like…really cold," she noted. She held his hand in hers as she looked over it. The fingernails were nearly paper thin and transparent. His skin felt like it was tightly pulled over his bones. She noticed his veins were bright blue and vibrant on his ashen skin. She let his hand fall back to the ground and rolled his body over to get a better look at his face. She gasped audibly and brought her hands to cover his mouth.

"You were saying?" Merlin said uneasily. The man's face was the same colour of ash with hues of blue and purple. His eyes were sunken into his skull and were a creepy milky white colour. Dark blue veins stretched across his face like a tree's roots.

"The people," Gaius said quietly while looking around. "The people mustn't see this. They will surely panic."

"I don't blame them," Adrielle remarked, the familiar taste of bile tickling the back of her throat. Merlin quickly grabbed a nearby tarp and draped it over the corpse.

"We need to get him to my chambers; immediately," Gaius proclaimed. The trio was able to commandeer a wheelbarrow and lift the body into it, mindful to keep him covered, and started to return to their chambers.

~xx~

"I've never seen anything like this before," Gaius commented. He had his magnifying glass out and was closely examining the man's skin. "His veins. I've never encountered someone who's veins were so noticeable and prominent; his eyes and the hue of his skin. It has no precedent."

"Do you think it could be some kind of plague?" Merlin asked.

"No. I fear something like this could never come from nature. But who has this amount of power?" Gaius inquired.

"You think this is caused by  _magic_?" Adrielle replied stunned. Before Gaius could respond the Prince's loud and slightly irritated voice vibrated throughout the room.

" _Mer_ lin!"

Merlin scurried to the door and opened it just enough to interact with him but not enough for him to see the decaying body.

"Sorry, I'm late, I know. I'm on my way," Merlin fumbled.

"Don't worry. I'm getting use to it," the Prince replied unamused. "Tell Gaius my father wants to see him and his apprentice now." Merlin shut the door as the Prince turned and made his way back to the Council Chambers.

"Gaius-"

"We heard," Gaius and Adrielle snapped in unison.

"Why couldn't he tell you himself then?" Merlin whined.

"Because that's the way it is. You're his servant," Gaius replied.

"If he knew who I was, what we've done-" Merlin started.

"We'd be dead servants," Adrielle finished. It might not have been what Merlin was going to say next but it was the truth.

"Exactly. Now get this covered up, Merlin," Gaius ordered.

"Hey! I'm not  _your_ servant," Merlin complained.

"No. The two of you are my dogsbodies. Now get a move on."

"Why not make Adrielle do it? She's properly your servant."

" _Apprentice_!" Adrielle corrected.

"She hasn't spent any nights in the dungeons yet. Now hurry up!"

" _Favoritism_ ," Merlin grumbled while doing as he was told. Adrielle stuck her tongue out at her brother as she passed him.

Waiting for them in the Council Chambers was a sight similar to the one they encountered out in the streets. Another man was sprawled out on his back for everyone to clearly see him. His physical symptoms were identical to the man they had already seen. His eyes were milky white and his skin was ashen with hues of blue and purple. Again, the most noticeable part of him were his prominent dark blue veins. Adrielle and Merlin stopped shortly behind Gaius as he knelt down and examined the body more closely. Even an idiot like Merlin could tell that the same problem had caused this to happen to both of the men.

"What's happened to him?" the King asked.

"I don't know, Sire. It is the second case I've seen today," Gaius informed.

"Why didn't you report it to me?" the King asked astounded.

"I was attempting to find the cause."

"And what did you conclude?" the King drawled.

"I don't think it's time to hurry to conclusions. The scientific process is a long one," Gaius responded. The trio had a persistent feeling that magic was indeed involved somehow, but without the proper proof they knew they shouldn't worry the King prematurely.

"What are you concealing from me?" Uther pressed.

"Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in twenty-four hours or less and it's spreading fast."

"What is the cause?" the King persisted.

"I think you should say the cause…the most likely cause," Gaius stretched. He knew once sorcery was hinted at the King would launch into a full out witch hunt, literally. "Is sorcery."

The men and women of the Court behaved just as Adrielle would have expected. Women cowered at the mention of the word and looked to their men for comfort. Even the men seemed frightened by the news. The King was the one who looked the most distraught over the news of sorcery in his kingdom…again. The King's demeanor changed as he became fueled with determination.

"We must find out who did this," he said to his son.

"I will, father."

"Conduct door to door searches. Increase your presents in the town. Double the guards on all gates – and lend the physician your servant," the King continued, his voice fast but hushed.

" _Mer_ lin?" Arthur protested. He found he quite liked bossing his servant around. He just hoped this illness was resolved quickly, not only for the sake of his people, but also for the sake of his bedchambers. "But Gaius already has an apprentice -"

"We  _need_  Gaius to find a cure," the King's voice became an urgent whisper as he instructed his son. "He'll need all the help we can give him. If Gaius is right, believe me, the city will be wiped out. This is the kind of magic that undermines our authority and challenges all we've done. If we cannot control this plague the people will turn to magic for a cure. We have to find this sorcerer quickly."

"Yes, father," Arthur obeyed. As he started to leave to carry out his father's orders he glanced back at the corpse that lied before them. It was certainly an unusual sight. He had suspected magic was at play before Gaius mentioned it. The symptoms present in the deceased, they were the likes of which Arthur had never seen before. Whether it was fortunate or not for him, death and corpses were not something new to Arthur. He couldn't let this wickedness contaminate his city or his people.

~xx~

Adrielle had been given concise directions as to what needed to be done while Merlin and Gaius went back into the lower town to gather necessary supplies. This was her first task since being appointed Gaius' apprentice that she was hesitant to carry out. Sure watching Eva give birth wasn't something she would have done willingly but she had just been an idle spectator. Now she was left alone and faced with a daunting task.

She approached the examining table that held the dormant corpse atop of it. Adrielle pulled back the cover that hid the body from the rest of the world and stared at it uncertainly. She couldn't tell if the discoloration of his skin was from the disease, the  _enchantment_  rather, or just natural from his body dying and decaying. His skin was beginning to turn a more purplish colour as time passed. His veins, however, were still a dark blue colour and had steadily begun to encompass most of his body. She held a small knife in one hand and a medium sized vial in the other. She placed the vial down and stared at the incision line Gaius had drawn for her before taking a deep breath and acting.

Adrielle pressed the blade to the man's tight skin and dragged it across surface just like Gaius had instructed. She pressed her free hand to the gash and grabbed for the vial; she couldn't let all of the 'precious fluid' she needed ooze out. She aimed the opening of the vial at the gash and began to carefully probe the body's innards until she found the bottom of his stomach, like Gaius had described. Her nostrils were assaulted with vile odors of the decaying body as she drained the man's stomach. The acidity of the stomach stung Adrielle's senses. Her eyes began to water from the foul substance. She palpated the outside of the skin once over to make sure all of what was once in his stomach had made it into the vial. She folded the cover back over the body and placed the bottle on the opposite table.

"How did it go, Adrielle?" Gaius asked once he and Merlin had returned.

"Erm…well, I think. I didn't seem to make too much of a mess of it," Adrielle replied. Gaius picked up the vial and examined it closely.

"Well done," he praised. A satisfied smile etched its way onto Adrielle's face. "Very well done."

"What exactly is it that she did?" Merlin inquired. "What are you doing?"

"She extracted the contents of the man's stomach and I'm going to test it now," Gaius explained.

"Will that tell you who did it?" Merlin asked.

"No, but it might tell us how it's spread. One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind," Gaius said, his voice becoming serious.

"Why would someone use magic like that?" Adrielle wondered aloud. She couldn't seem to wrap her brain around it. Perhaps it was her gentle spirit and nature that kept her from being able to understand. Causing harm and devastation to others was not something that she wished to spend her days doing.

"Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends."

"But not all magic is bad. I know it's not," Merlin protested.

"It's neither good nor bad. It's how you use it," Gaius clarified. He began to start whatever process was needed for examining somebody's stomach fluid when a group of men came barreling into the room.

"Search everywhere, men," the Prince directed to his guards. He turned his attention to Gaius next. "Sorry Gaius. We're searching every room in town."

"What for?" Gaius asked incredulously.

"A sorcerer of course."

"Why on Earth would he be here?" Gaius continued.

"I'm just doing my job," Arthur said apologetically.

"Alright then, search. We've got nothing to hide," he testified.

"Except  _two_  sorcerers," Adrielle whispered as quietly as she could to her brother. He smirked briefly before his face regained its worried composure. Merlin just hoped that in Arthur's search for a sorcerer they didn't accidentally catch him and his sister. They weren't the cause for this disease, but the King wouldn't believe it. A sorcerer was a sorcerer was a sorcerer.

"All these books and papers?" Arthur asked while he and his men rifled through them.

"My life's work," Gaius indicated, "dedicated to the understanding of science. You're welcome to read them if you like." Adrielle snickered as Arthur made a face indicating he'd rather  _not_  read up about science and medicine. He set the book he was holding back down and was drawn to the door at the far end of the room.

"What's this room up here, then?"

"Er, it's mine," Merlin spoke up. "Ours. Mine and Adrielle's."

"And what do you think you'll find up there?" Gaius asked.

"I'm looking for material evidence suggesting the use of enchantments," Arthur said while climbing the stairs.

"Which one of you was the last to have that  _magic_  book out?" Gaius whispered as Arthur opened up the door to their room. Adrielle and Merlin both looked each other suddenly and pointed to the other. Okay, so maybe they didn't exactly know who had the book out last. That wouldn't cause a problem, would it?

"Merlin!" Arthur's voice echoed. "Come here. Look at what I found."

The twins froze, the cold sense of dread and fear creeping through their veins. They scrambled past each other in an attempt to make it to Arthur first and desperately cover up the book. It would be a vain attempt to save their necks from prosecution. Merlin was the first to scramble up the steps and meet Arthur. Rather than holding up an  _extremely_  incriminating book, Arthur was staring into their shared cupboard.

"I found a place where you can put things. It's called a cupboard. Looks like one of you has made good use of it," Arthur remarked. The pair of siblings laughed nervously thankful he had yet to spot the book. Adrielle glanced around the room quickly and noticed said book lying about obviously. She nudged Merlin and nodded towards it discreetly as to not alert the Prince. Adrielle turned her head and watched as Arthur sauntered over towards her side of the room and away from the book.

"And what are all these books?" he asked as he picked up the books on Adrielle's bed.

" _More_  books on medicine and the like. Contrary to popular belief there is  _some_  studying I'm required to do," Adrielle replied. She glanced over at her brother and noticed he was trying to drape his sleeping tunic over the book. She sauntered over towards her items and Arthur and continued to speak to him.

"You're welcome to read through some of them if you like. That one there," she said pointing to the book Arthur was currently holding, "it's all about infections. It's a real page turner. Oh, and there's this section that talks about digesting maggots. On accident of course, but they end up eating their way out of you. I was up all night with that one."

Arthur frowned, slightly disgusted, and set the book back down quickly. He turned around and continued to examine the rest of the room. Adrielle looked back over at her brother and noticed that the book was now successfully hidden and out of sight. Arthur knelt down and looked underneath the two beds. Adrielle's was nice and clean, but when he looked under Merlin's he flinched, slightly repulsed.

"Just don't eat any of the food underneath this bead or else you'll end up in that book of yours," Arthur said while standing himself back up. " _Girl bites off more than she can chew; eaten alive by maggots._ Maybe I'll give it a look over then."

"Maybe they'll eat your mouth and finally you'll be quiet," Merlin aimed at his sister. The two boys laughed in unison at the girl's misfortune.

"Oh, ha ha," Adrielle mocked. "Are you quite done yet? Found anything incriminating? Any signs of sorcerers? Some of us have some  _real_  work to get back to."

"You're clean, don't worry. Not like anyone could believe the two of you capable of harnessing magic," Arthur rebuked. Adrielle shared a coy look with her brother as the Prince retreated back down to Gaius.

"How long do you think it will be before you find a cure?" the Prince inquired to the physician.

"Depends on how many more interruptions I have," Gaius snapped back.

"Of course, my apologies, Gaius." Arthur turned to his men again and ordered them out. "We're finished here." Adrielle watched as Arthur and his four men turned and left their sacred chambers for good.

"That was close," Adrielle breathed. "We have to hide that book better."

"No! Don't you see? We must use it!" Merlin started eagerly.

"Don't be stupid," Gaius exclaimed.

"If we have this legacy then what is it for? You keep telling me it's not for playing tricks," Merlin replied.

"You want to practice magic when the King is hunting for sorcerers? Are you mad? Your lives are destined for more important things."

"But if we don't practice, then how will we get to be these great warlocks?!" Merlin argued.

"There will come a time when your skills will be recognized," Gaius stated.

" _When_?! How long do I have to wait?"

"Patience is a virtue, Merlin," Gaius lectured.

"Sitting by and doing nothing, that's a virtue?" Merlin argued.

"Your time will come. For the both of you," Gaius proclaimed

"I could cure that man we saw!" Merlin protested.

"I know it's tempting to use the way you find easiest, Merlin-"

"It is when it would save a life!"

"It's no good just saving one person. We have to discover how this illness is spreading," Gaius tried to reason.

"Arthur is out there right now looking for the sorcerer!" Merlin shouted.

"A sorcerer who's powerful enough to do this will never be found searching the town, I'm afraid."

"So then what can we do?" Adrielle sighed.

"Hope that science can find the answer before it kills us all."

~xx~

That night Adrielle lied in bed and let Gaius' words simmer in her mind. She could understand needing to discover  _how_  this cursed disease was being spread; otherwise people would continue to keep getting sick until the entire kingdom had been contaminated at  _least_  once. The madness would never end, but was it really necessary for them to let innocent bystanders die in the process? The King might have been able to idly sit by and let his people perish, but Adrielle couldn't think of it. What if this illness affected her or her brother before Gaius could find a cure? What if it captured Gwen or Arthur and his father? Would Gaius still insist on science and medicine to answer their problems?

Adrielle closed her eyes in an attempt to achieve some sleep. As she stared at the inside of her eyelids the faint veins that stretched across her vision became more defined. She squinted her eyes and the veins began to disappear. Or so she thought. As her vision cleared the veins returned, but as they came back they became a darker shade of blue. Much like the veins she had seen on the victims. She swore she could almost feel the veins branching out from her eyelids and slowly covering her face; it felt like tiny bugs were spreading out from her face and crawling along under her skin.

She screamed and jolted up so she was sitting; she stared at her hands in horror. Sure enough deep blue veins, almost black, were swarming all over her body. In mere seconds every inch of her body was covered in the grotesque veins. Adrielle watched as her fingernails started to fade; her skin began to turn the same grayish colour with the same hints of purple and blue. She fell to the ground as she stumbled out of her bed and over to her mirror. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight reflected in the mirror before her.

Adrielle watched in horror as her reflection's hand reached up and touched her own face. She looked like the living dead. Her eyes were glazed over and steadily sinking back into her skull. Her face was the same ghastly colour as her hands. How could this be happening to her? She felt fine! What could she have done to contract this disease? She couldn't be dying. She could feel her pulse rapidly increasing throughout the veins that now dominated her body. Her breath was coming quicker and quicker into her lungs. If she were dying shouldn't her body be shutting down? Maybe her would just keep going at this pace until her heart simply gave out and stopped.

With as gasping breath Adrielle's eyes snapped open. Hadn't she just been standing in front of her mirror? Then why was she lying in her bed staring up at her dusty ceiling? Her fingertips trembled as she brought her hand up to her face. Beneath her touch she felt her skin flush with heat. Well, she wasn't dead. That was a good sign, right? She raked her hand through her hair to steady herself. The hair closest to her scalp was damp with sweat. She suddenly remembered her - what would she even call that? Vision? Dream?  _Nightmare_? She bloody hoped that hadn't been some sort of damned foresight of events to come.

Adrielle brought her hand down in front of her face as she recalled the horrifying experience she had seen. She was pleasantly surprised to see that her hand looked completely normal. Her skin was pale with a slight flush of pink and her fingernails looked just as they always had; an even paler shade than her skin with cracks in the tips from working and a faint crescent of purple just at her cuticle, nothing to indicate that she was dying. Adrielle ran her slender hand across her cheek and felt nothing out of place. As if she could detect the sort of change she had seen with just her fingertips. She felt normal, but she had to make sure everything was alright. Her legs shook as her weight shifted from the bed springs and onto her feet. She slowly approached the mirror, just like she had in her dream.

A small sigh of relief escaped Adrielle's lips as she gazed at her reflected appearance. Her face looked completely normal, although maybe just a touch paler than usual; a result of the fear and anxiety her dream had given her. Her eyes, despite being dilated and a tad wider than normal, were crystal sapphires.

Voices from the main chambers brought Adrielle back to what she hoped was reality. As she entered the main room she still wasn't sure if she was actually awake or had somehow fallen down a messed up rabbit hole.

"Good morning, Adrielle," Gaius greeted.

"Whoa. You look like you've seen a ghost," Merlin added.

"Why is there a dead body on our table?" she asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Unfortunately it seems life and death are both common occurrences of this position, my dear," Gaius clarified.

"But this early in the morning? Before  _breakfast_?" she whined.

"My sincerest apologies if I deferred your appetite this morning, Adrielle, but I feel this particular victim can shed some light on this disease. What's different about this one?"

"Er..." Merlin paused while trying to carefully examine the body. "Oh. She's a woman."

"Sometimes I do wonder whether your magical talents were given to the right person or not," Gaius sighed.

"Really, Merlin? Where have you been for the last eighteen years? Are just now realizing these differences between men and women?" Adrielle taunted.

"What can you deduce then if you're so clever?" Merlin challenged.

"Alright," Adrielle accepted. She straightened herself up and rolled her shoulders back before looking over the woman. Adrielle noticed that woman's clothes were made of a nicer fabric than what she personally owned. Woven into the fabric were delicate designs not typically seen in servant's clothes. She could rule that out in regards to this woman's standings. Her hair, despite the fact that she was no longer living, was neatly groomed and smelled faintly of scented soap. "She's a courtier."

"How does that help us?" Merlin wondered aloud.

"Courtiers seldom go down to the lower town. So what does that mean?" Gaius continued.

"Uhm…she hasn't spoken to any townspeople?" Merlin guessed. Adrielle could tell from the pained look Gaius' face took on that wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.

"It means the disease is not spread by contact," Gaius clarified. "Anything else?"

"They probably eat different food," Adrielle suggested.

"And I doubt they breathe the same air," Merlin added.

"Yes, yes. Now what's the only thing left they do share?"

Adrielle looked over the woman once more as she tried to come up with an answer. So the victims hadn't had any sort of contact with each other recently, if ever. Their statuses indicated they had completely different lifestyles, different daily routines, and ate different food. There must have been something universal that connected them all. What was one thing everyone shared equally despite their social standing?

"Water?" Adrielle guessed. She was slightly surprised to hear Merlin's voice chime in with her own. Gaius nodded, confirming that the pair was right. "Water? You think the disease is spread by  _water_?"

"Don't look so surprised, Adrielle. The two of you followed the same path of clues as me," Gaius spoke. "The two of you are prodigies." Gaius handed a small bucket to Merlin and instructed him to fill it with water and return with haste.

"I have to admit," Adrielle remarked after Merlin had scurried out of the room. "Contaminating something that  _every_ body uses is certainly a clever way to infect a city. Certainly the fastest. Whoever this sorcerer is they're cunning."

"Indeed. Which seems to put us at quite the disadvantage," Gaius replied. He looked over at the young girl, who was still staring almost intently at the dead body. "Is something the matter? Earlier when you woke up. I doubt that was just from seeing a dead body before breakfast."

Adrielle sighed before answering, still absentmindedly eyeing the woman she had seen herself becoming last night. "I had a…a dream I guess, last night. Although it seems more like a nightmare now."

"Enlighten me. Nightmares often stem from problems and conflicts in our waking lives, though sometimes it's hard to interpret them exactly. Something simple can symbolize something much deeper."

"All right," Adrielle sighed. "I don't even know where to begin really. I went to bed last night and as soon as I closed my eyes I start dreaming that I'm turning into one of those corpses. That I've contracted the sickness and am dying before my eyes."

"Did anything else happen? Anything out of the ordinary that could help this case?" Gaius asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"No. I fell asleep so quickly I hadn't even noticed I was sleeping until I woke up this morning. I had no idea I was dreaming at the time. It was terrifying. To watch myself decay and die right before my eyes, to feel so helpless," Adrielle gulped. She shook her head slightly and tried to block the rest of the memory of her dream.

"You're probably stressed out and anxious from all this work lately. All these sicknesses and deaths. The fact that the King is searching the entire kingdom for a sorcerer. Not to mention the whole fact that you and Merlin are trying to balance figuring out your talents and hiding who you are at the same time. It's a lot for your young mind to cope with," Gaius prescribed.

Adrielle nodded and sat on a bench seeming to accept Gaius' answer. It still seemed strange to her how quickly and effortlessly these items from her waking life could bleed into her dreams.

The room was suddenly filled with sobs as a brunette figure came crashing into their chambers.

"Gwen!" Adrielle exclaimed.

"Gaius, please!" Gwen cried.

"Do you have the sickness?" the physician inquired quickly.

"No, no. It's my father! Please, Gaius, he's all I have!" Gwen croaked between her sobs and gasps of breath. Once she realized her father was ill she must have sprinted all the way here. Gwen's eyes were bloodshot from crying, the fear of losing her father petrifying her.

"I have no cure," Gaius sighed regretfully. The girl let out another sob and gasp combo. Adrielle moved towards Gwen, placing a hand on either shoulder and embraced her from the side in hopes of comforting her.

"Gwen-" Adrielle started. She didn't know what she was planning to say. What do you say to someone who's father was sick and doomed to die? She had no idea. Adrielle's own father had never been in her life, he hadn't even been around to see her birth. Their mother never talked about him and Adrielle and Merlin seemed content enough to not ask questions.

"I'm begging you!"

"I wish there was something, anything, but so far the remedy is beyond what I can achieve. I am eternally sorry, Gwen."

Gwen choked back another mournful sob as she turned to flee back to her father's bedside. On her way out she passed a concerned looking Merlin who carried a bucket of contaminated water.

"There must be something we can do, Gaius," Adrielle almost begged.

"All I can do right now is my best," Gaius replied. He took the bucket from Merlin and placed it on the table. He quickly started preparing whatever tests he had devised for the water. "Let's hope this can provide us with the answers."

"But that'll be too late for Gwen's father!" Merlin spoke up.

"I'm afraid you're right."

Rather than getting into another row with Gaius, Merlin bit his tongue and rushed up to his room silently.

"There has to be  _something_  we can do, Gaius. Anything!" Adrielle prompted. She approached Gaius as he worked and waited for him to shoot her down again.

"I wish there was something we could do to help Tom. Honestly I do. It's early in your apprenticeship but the sooner you learn this lesson the easier your job will become in the future. We can't save everyone. As unfortunate as that is it is the truth," Gaius lectured. "If you could be so kind as to offer me a hand we might be able to figure this out before everyone is left to die."


	8. Chapter 8

_The Mark of Nimueh: Part 2_

That night at dinner the trio sat in silence. Perhaps the cause was from the lingering conversation they had before. Or maybe it was due to the excess of dead bodies that seemed to be accumulating in their chambers. Silverware scraping against plates was the only sound that echoed through the room. As the sunlight outside died the group retreated to their respective beds.

As Adrielle slumbered a strange scratching sound pierced through her unconsciousness. As she lied in bed and listened to the sounds she originally thought she heard rats scurrying in the shadows. As she grew closer to consciousness she realized the sound she was hearing was of pages being flipped through. Old, wrinkly pages.

Adrielle rolled over in her bed and spotted the top of Merlin's shaggy head peeking over his bed. Before she could think to question him about what he was doing Merlin stood up quietly and snuck out of the room.

Adrielle rolled back over and stared at the ceiling as Merlin crept quietly out of their room and out into the night. Eventually the only sounds distinguishable to her were the crickets outside, the occasional shuffle of guards on duty, and the ever reverberating snores from Gaius.

The sound of claws against the hard floor echoed throughout the room as they drew closer to Adrielle. They stopped when they reached the foot of Adrielle's bed. There was a moment of silence and then a heavy object came jumping up onto the foot of her bed. Adrielle sighed as Beacon circled on top of her legs before settling down and lying there.

After they had turned the stone statue into a real dog and were able to bring Valiant's snakes to life they were still faced with a problem. The snakes had been vanquished but that still left Merlin and Adrielle with the once stone Rottweiler. Merlin had suggested reversing the animation spell, turning it back into a statue, but Gaius thought otherwise. Merlin's plan would require magic - learning and mastering yet another spell. Even though his was a completely appropriate excuse to use magic, Gaius would rather sell the dog or set him free. Apparently Gaius thought their magic needed an excuse to be used and even then the best excuses, in Adrielle's mind, weren't good enough. But Adrielle's idea had been the winner. She had just batted her eyelashes, flashed some convincing puppy dog eyes, and smooth talked her way into keeping the dog for themselves.

' _Having a dog will help keep us out of trouble'._

' _It'll distract us from using our magic when we shouldn't.'_

' _You let us keep Merlin.'_

Adrielle had drifted back off to sleep before Merlin could slink back into their room and divulge all his successes or of his shortcomings. When Adrielle woke next it was to Beacon's warm breath on her face and his tongue scraping her cheek.

"Okay, okay, boy. I'm waking up," she cooed groggily. She scratched the top of his head affectionately as she pulled herself out of bed. She was somewhat surprised to find Merlin's bed sloppily made. She frowned, hoping it was due to him oversleeping and being late yet again to serve Arthur and not due to something much worse. Perhaps Merlin had failed and ran away during the night, the guilt being too much for him to bear. Or that he had been caught and dragged back to the dungeons.

Adrielle shook those thoughts from her mind and dressed herself for the day ahead. Gaius didn't look too alarmed or distressed as he served her her porridge.

"Good morning," Adrielle greeted. The nagging part of her brain was oddly paranoid that something had happened to Merlin. She was sure though that if anything had she would have been alerted to it almost immediately. Unless he had run away. If Gwen's father was well again, if Merlin had succeeded, then he must just be off tending to the Prince.

"Good morning," Gaius greeted in return. Adrielle decided to keep her concerns and worries to herself for now. Gaius wouldn't know about their attempt to save Tom via magic unless it was absolutely necessary. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast, Adrielle. We'll need to meet in the Council Chambers as soon as possible. We must alert the King to how the curse is being spread."

"So it is most definitely the water?" Adrielle pressed.

"I'm afraid so. I've conducted several tests on the water sample Merlin brought me. All of them have yielded the same results," Gaius explained. He picked up a small vial that sat on the table and held it out to her. "I placed this flower in the water not a few hours ago and it is already dead. The flower is usually a vibrant amber colour and now look at it. It seems to resemble to victims almost identically. The petals are a mix of a pale white and purple with bluish veins as well."

"So then what can we do next? We know what's spreading the curse but how do we stop it?" Adrielle questioned.

"That my dear, I still do not know. If we can find the sorcerer and stop them that will surely end the curse. As for treating those who will continue to get sick, I do not know."

~xx~

Inside the Council Chambers stood the King and his son apprehensively waiting to hear the results of Gaius' tests. Gaius had requested an audience with the Prince and King as soon as he had awoken this morning. The physician and his young apprentice came strolling through the doors, bowing respectively first, before entering the hall. Gaius set the contaminated sample down onto the table before the royals. Arthur reached out curiously to examine the vial.

"Don't touch that!" Adrielle cried out suddenly. Arthur's arm stopped where it was and came back to rest at his side. He came to look at the young girl and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. She lowered her head slightly, mumbling a quick apology for speaking out of term so abruptly.

"You're not out of place, Adrielle. I've had this flower in the water for no more than a few hours," Gaius said.

"What's the matter with it?" Arthur questioned.

"It's contaminated; contaminated with some magical curse. The water is the force that is spreading this disease, and it's spreading like a wild fire," Gaius clarified.

"Where is this water from?" the King asked, gesturing to the water sample.

"The pump from where the people take their daily supply," Gaius answered.

"We have to stop the people from using it," Arthur alerted.

"But Sire, the city cannot survive without water."

"We have to find this sorcerer!" the King exclaimed, turning away from the trio.

"I don't believe they are in Camelot," the Prince admitted.

"Then extend the search to the villages!" the King ordered.

"We've started, but I can't search the entire kingdom," Arthur continued.

"And I can't stand by and watch our people die." Arthur nodded and exited to continue his search.

"Adrielle, you may go back to your chores. I'd like a moment alone with the King," Gaius said quietly to his young apprentice. She nodded, still leery of speaking out of term again, and left the two to their business.

As Adrielle crossed the foyer her eyes caught the familiar brown curls and chocolate-brown eyes.

"Gwen," she said while approaching her. "How are you? How's your father? I know things last night...things weren't looking so good."

"It's truly a miracle, Adrielle," Gwen said, her face brightening up suddenly. "He's completely well. Almost as if nothing ever happened to him."  
"Really?" Adrielle remarked. "That's incredible!

"I know, it's amazing. I-I can't explain it. Do you have any idea?" Gwen asked looking towards her friend.

"I've only been training as a physician for a couple of weeks now. Perhaps this disease isn't always fatal. We don't know everything about this illness. Maybe your father was spared by God. I'm happy for you, Gwen. Truly," Adrielle said with a warm smile. "I'd love to stay and chat but I have some business of Gaius' to attend to."

"And I have some laundry to attend to," Gwen replied with a grin. "It was lovely to see you."

"You, too. I'll be seeing you around."

The two girls smiled and said their goodbyes to each other. Adrielle smiled to herself as she walked through the castle.

So her idiot brother had discovered a way to save Gwen's father from the disease. She just hoped nobody of extreme importance noticed and took suspicion. But Gwen was no sorcerer. Neither was her father. Would someone really incriminate them, whether they were guilty or not, of sorcery because they had saved a life? She guessed she understood arresting those who used for the wrong means; for murder, for deceitful purposes, but for saving a life? That's exactly what Adrielle's aim was as a physician; to heal the wounded and save lives. Was magic that big of an issue to the King that no matter how it was used, whether it be good or bad, it made no difference? There were no gray areas when it came to magic apparently. It was wrong no matter how it was used. Only black and white areas, and magic was drowning in the black.

Adrielle watched as her brother sauntered down the hall towards her. She figured the Prince had caught up with his servant, after leaving their earlier encounter, and undoubtedly given a new list of chores for him to do. Merlin had probably agreed begrudgingly and stalked off to complete his tasks. He acknowledged his sister with a quick look before trying to walk past. Before he could brush past her she pulled him into a small alcove.

"What are you doing?" Merlin protested.

"Is it such a crime to want a nice friendly chat with my dear brother?" Adrielle teased with a playful pout.

"What do you want?" he repeated.

"Someone's grouchy. I guess that happens when you sneak off in the middle of the night and then leave again before the crack of dawn," she countered with a brief smirk. Merlin paused for a moment and decided how to act, knowing he'd been caught. He decided lying and feigning innocence was his best tactic.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Merlin moved to try and leave the small alcove but Adrielle was quicker, stepping directly in front of his path.

"Oh I think you do," she fired. She cut off another one of Merlin's attempts to leave before responding, this time softer. "Look I'm not here to interrogate you or lecture you. I wanted to praise you, I guess. Thank you for what you did; for Gwen."

"What? You know?" Merlin asked surprised.

"Yes I know. In addition to being  _extremely_  clever and perceptive, I ran into Guinevere earlier. She told me of her father's miraculous recovery. You really did a lot for her," Adrielle said.

"I couldn't watch her suffer, knowing I could do something to help," Merlin shrugged.

"I know. You're a good friend, Merlin," she said with a gentle smile.

"You're not about to hug me or anything, are you?"

"No I'm not going to hug you. Just…good job," she said while briefly patting his shoulder. The pair of siblings stood there for a second before breaking out into identical smiles and snorts of laughter.

A woman's frantic pleas erupted down the hallway.

" _No, please_!" the woman's voice cried. "You've got to listen to me! I've done nothing wrong!"

Adrielle's eyes widened as the cries became louder and more defined. She soon realized it was Gwen who desperately called for help. Gwen turned her head as she passed the alcove Merlin and Adrielle were hiding in.

"Merlin! Adrielle! Please you have to help me! I'm innocent I swear!"

Adrielle and Merlin stepped out from their hiding place and began to follow behind. Two guards practically dragged the distraught Gwen through the corridors towards the Council Chambers. Adrielle spotted Arthur down the hall walking determinedly.

"What the hell is going on? What do you think you're doing?" Adrielle interrogated as she closed the distance between herself and Arthur.

"My  _job_."

"Your  _job_? And that includes tormenting innocent young women?" Adrielle scoffed. "What has she done?"

"She's been accused of practicing spells and enchantments," Arthur clarified.

"What? That's preposterous! Gwen is one of the kindest and most gentle people I've had the pleasure of meeting. You seriously think she's a sorceress?" Adrielle continued heatedly.

"The facts stack up against her and the evidence speaks for itself," Arthur replied.

"The  _facts_?" Adrielle said while crossing her arms defensively.

"Yes, the  _facts_ ," Arthur repeated. "Her father received a miraculous recovery from the illness that's been wiping out the fair people of Camelot. No one else has recovered. It's suspicious that he's the only one."

"Oh like you know so much about medicine. How do you know he didn't recover naturally? It's a miracle but who says magic is involved?" Adrielle countered again.

" _Because_ , you're forgetting the evidence that we have against her."

" _Evidence_?" Adrielle repeated again.

"Yes, the  _evidence_ ," Arthur continued. It was obvious he was beginning to grow tired of the young girl's ignorance. "We discovered a magical poultice under Tom's pillow. The only person who's been there is Gwen."

"A poultice?" Adrielle repeated again.

"Is there an echo in here or are you just deaf?" Arthur scoffed. "I can't just turn a blind eye."

Arthur brushed past the young girl and continued on to his destination. Adrielle made to follow behind the Prince and his guards when a hand gripped tightly onto her upper arm and dragged her away from the scene. She turned her head quickly to see Gaius pulling Merlin and herself down the corridor.

" _What have you done_? I warned you two!" Gaius pressed angrily. He let go of Merlin and Adrielle's arms once they had happened upon a deserted hallway. When neither twin answered his accusations, Gaius continued. "Oh, I understand. You thought you were doing good."

"I couldn't let her father die knowing I could cure him!" Merlin argued in his defense.

"Didn't you think it might look a bit suspicious, the curing of  _one_  man?"

"Well then, all I have to do is...we'll cure everyone! No one will ever have to know it was magic," Merlin offered.

"Oh, no! It's too late! They think Gwen's a sorceress! They think she caused the disease!"

"But she didn't!" Adrielle interjected.

"It's too late," Gaius repeated, calming down. "There's nothing you can do for her now. The King thinks she is the cause of this illness and he will stop at nothing to eradicate her and the disease."

Adrielle sank back onto her heels and brought her hand up to chew on her fingernail. She couldn't let Gwen die. There was a small shred in her that hoped the King would be lenient. Maybe he wouldn't sentence her to death for using magic. Maybe he'd think up another form of punishment for Gwen. It might not be fun, it was called  _punishment_  after all, but at least she'd still be alive. It was a long shot, but she couldn't lose all hope for her only friend.

"C'mon," Merlin said quickly. He grabbed onto his sister's wrist and pulled her along before Gaius could say another word. The two ducked behind a pair of courtiers and members of the Court and snuck their way into Gwen's trial, hiding behind two pillars.

"Please listen to me I have done nothing, please! I swear I haven't done anything!" Gwen begged. The guard's released Gwen from their grip and sent her falling to the ground forcefully before her King.

"Well done," the King said with a nod to his son.

"Why will no one believe me?!" Gwen asked hysterically. She looked around the room as she spoke, searching desperately for supporters. Anyone who would believe her innocence. Merlin and Adrielle ducked their heads back guiltily as Gwen's eyes swept past them. "He got better, he just recovered. I didn't do anything!"

"I believe you," Morgana declared as she entered the chamber, coming to stand by her handmaiden. "Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally."

"And what of this poultice that was found?" the king questioned.

"What poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice!"

"It was found in your house. Undo this enchantment. Put an end to this contagion," Uther ordered.

"I can't!" Gwen sobbed.

"I will show you no mercy."

"I am not a witch! I don't know how to stop the illness!"

"If you will not undo your sorcery, you force my hand and I must find you guilty," the King proclaimed.

"But I told you, I-"

"It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment," the King said, cutting her off, "and under the circumstance I have no choice but to sentence you to death."

"No," Gwen breathed in disbelief. She had always respected her King. He may have been a bit on the harsh side, but she couldn't believe he was condemning her to death for a crime she hadn't committed. How come no one was speaking for her other than Morgana? Gwen had grown up in Camelot. Her mother had been a maid in Sir Leon's house when he was younger. The two grew up together. How could anyone suspect her of having  _magic_?

"I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you."

"No! No!" Gwen cried, her hoarse voice becoming louder with desperation.

"Take her away!" The King ordered while stalking back to his seat upon his throne. The two guards from earlier picked Gwen up by her arms and dragged her away to the dungeons.

Adrielle and Merlin watched helplessly as their friend was taken to her fate before sneaking back out with the courtiers..

~xx~

Back in their chambers neither Adrielle nor Merlin's moods lightened. A storm had 'gathered' as the day progressed. The sound of rain pelting the castle created a steady rhythm to reflect their moods. Thunder rumbled nearby as a flash of lightning illuminated the darkened sky. Adrielle's muscles tightened apprehensively as Merlin began to speak.

"I thought I was doing good," Merlin started somberly. "I thought that curing Gwen's father would help her. I thought I was saving a life. It seemed so simple."

"An easy solution is like a light in a storm, Merlin. Rush for it at your peril, for it may not always lead you to a safe harbour," Gaius lectured.

"I can see that now," Merlin mumbled.

"How many times have I warned you two about the responsibilities of being a warlock?" Gaius said solemnly. It wasn't meant to be patronizing but more sympathetic, almost pitying. Another bolt of lightning cracked through the air causing Adrielle to jump again. Her knee hit the table hard, causing her to curse under her breath.

"Are you alright?" Gaius asked.

"She's afraid of thunderstorms," Merlin answered almost automatically.

"Really? You know there's nothing to be afraid of with a storm?"

"Yes, I  _know_ ," she replied annoyed. "Everyone always tells me that. I tell myself that all the time, but it still doesn't make any difference."

"I have to go see her," Merlin said getting up from his seat suddenly. Adrielle watched as her brother hurried from the room, shoulders forward and head hung just the slightest. She wanted to follow and go to comfort her only friend in Camelot, but as another bolt of lightning struck closer to the castle Adrielle felt her chest tighten uncomfortably.

_It's okay, Adrielle. You're fine_ , she reprimanded herself. She swallowed hard as her breaths started coming in shorter stretches.

"Adrielle, are you alright? You're looking a little pale," Gaius observed.

"Yeah, I'm f-fine," she said with an involuntary shake.

"Why don't you go and get some rest," he suggested.

"It won't do any good. I couldn't sleep through all this even if I wanted to," she sighed.

"How about an anxiety draft? I'll need to make a stronger batch, but I have a small supply that should hold you over until then."

Gaius stood from his seat and moved over to his bookshelf filled with tinctures, poisons, and pre-made remedies. Glasses clinked against each other as he rummaged through them, searching diligently for the one he wanted. He returned to the girl a moment later with a vial that appeared empty. Only a small amount of light orange liquid remained inside.

"I'm afraid this won't give you full relief from your anxiety, but it should be enough to calm you from," the physician dictated. "Does this happen to you everytime it rains?"

"More or less," she admitted. "It's the thunder and lightning that...that give me problems. It's not so bad when it's just raining. Although I do get a bit apprehensive then because I know it could start thundering at any moment."

"Then I shall prepare more of the draft to keep on tap in the case of a storm."

"Thank you," Adrielle replied quietly, taking the vial from him. She popped the top off and quickly shot the sour potion down.

"It's no problem, my dear. It is my job after all. Why don't you do something active to help distract you?" He suggested.

"I could help you with the potion?"

"That won't be necessary, not today. I'm afraid I have a Council meeting to attend to right now, but I'll make sure to make your draft later this evening. Why don't you go for a walk around the castle," Gaius said before leaving. Adrielle remained seated as she watched another bolt of lightning streak the sky. Her heart felt calmer and her breaths came easier to her, but the storm still made her feel inexplicably nervous.

She felt something warm and furry nudge her hand before coming to rest on her leg. Adrielle looked down to see Beacon resting his head on her and looking up at her.

"What is it, boy?" she cooed. He let out a whine as thunder rumbled farther off in the distance. "Are you afraid of storms, too?"

Her response was yet another sad whimper.

"Maybe I'll share some of the draft with you," she cooed again. She brought her hand up to scratch behind his ears affectionately. The rottweiler let out a sound in appreciation and leaned his head back into her hand. Adrielle smiled at the dog before her thoughts drifted to Gwen.

It seemed fitting, almost eerily coincidental, that the weather was as foul as it was while her poor friend was rotting away in a prison cell. Gloomy. That's the word she would use to describe it. Their moods perfectly copied the gloomy clouds that hung low over the city. Adrielle couldn't let her friend die. She felt just as guilty as Merlin, even though it had been him who cured Gwen's father. It was he who was the true sorcerer in this case, but she had been just as willing to use her magic. Maybe if she had taken the initiative to save Tom she would have done a better job of cleaning up her evidence. That nagging, pessimistic, and almost realist part of her, told her that nothing would have turned out differently had  _she_  been the one to cure the man. Even if they had no explicit evidence, the King would still charge Gwen with treason and sentence her to death.

What would the King do once Gwen was - she couldn't even bring herself to think about the fate that awaited Gwen. When her sentence was carried out and the plague did not cease, what would his next course of action be then? Would he continue to pursue innocent people who did not have magic, or even those who did, until the contagion was contained. Gaius was right, whoever had the power to create a disease like this they would not be found simply searching Camelot.

_Maybe if we find the true sorcerer and stop them the disease will stop. Maybe if we can do this before Gwen's...execution...the King will pardon her._

It was a long shot, Adrielle thought, but it was their only chance to save her innocent friend.

_I need to go see Gwen,_ Adrielle decided.

~xx~

Adrielle walked silently through the empty corridors. The storm had seeped into the hallways and turned them cold forcing sane townspeople to retreat close to their fires.

Adrielle looked up suddenly as her brother rounded a corner at the far end of the hallway, looking determined.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" she called. When he disregarded his sister she called out louder to him. " _Mer_ lin!"

Still no response.

Adrielle quickened her pace so she could cross paths with her brother sooner. Before she could get to him face to face he turned to his right abruptly and pushed the doors to the Council Chambers open.

"It was me! It was me who used magic to cure Gwen's father!" Merlin declared loudly.

Adrielle skidded to a stop and stood there in the hallway looking dumbfounded at her brother. What the  _hell_  did he think he was doing? She scurried herself into the Council Chambers and stood in disbelief behind her brother.

"Gwen is not the sorcerer. I am!" he repeated.

" _Merlin_! Are you mad?" Gaius insisted.

"I cannot let her die for me," Merlin said aside to the physician.

"Merlin, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing? You're going to get yourself killed!" Adrielle hissed under her breath while grabbing onto his jacket forcefully.

"What needs to be done," Merlin whispered to his sister. Merlin turned his attention back to the King before speaking. "I place myself at your mercy."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about," Gaius apologized to the King.

"Yes, I do."

"Then arrest him," the King ordered. The two guards left their post and began to approach the young boy.

"Father, please! I can't allow this! This is madness! There's no way Merlin is a sorcerer," Arthur spoke up.

"Did you not hear him? He admitted it," Uther said.

"He saved my life, remember," Arthur almost pleaded.

"Why should he fabricate such a story?"

"As Gaius said, he's got a...grave mental disease."

"Really?" the King inquired, leaning forward in his chair suddenly intrigued.

"Yes!" Adrielle spoke up. She didn't know where Arthur was going with this but she had a feeling he was trying to get Merlin off the hook. "Yes, Sire, it is true. I just hope it's not hereditary."

"And what is this grave disease?" the King deplored.

"He's in love."

Adrielle had to bite her tongue hard to keep her composure. She hadn't expected Arthur to pull this out from under his sleeves but oh was she glad this was it. She suspected that Merlin and Gwen had feelings for each other, no matter how briefly formed they were, they still existed. Adrielle briefly wondered if even Arthur could see it by the way Gwen and Merlin interacted.

" _What_?" Merlin asked incredulously.

"With Gwen," Arthur added.

_Yup, the Prince definitely has eyes,_ Adrielle thought to herself. Uther and other members of the Council smiled and let out amused chuckles.

"I am  _not_ ," Merlin said definitively.

"Yes, you are," Arthur argued.

"No way. I'm  _not_  in love with her," Merlin continued defensively. Arthur moved across the room and wrapped an arm around Merlin's shoulders goodheartedly.

"It's alright. You can admit it,"Arthur almost sang.

"I don't even think of her like that!" Merlin persisted. Merlin could deny it all he liked but Adrielle could notice the faint flush of pink start to show in his cheeks.

"Oh come now, Merlin, it's alright. You can admit your feelings, dear brother," Adrielle pipped in.

"I do  _not_  have feelings for her!"

"Perhaps she cast a spell on you," the King said with a wicked grin. Again the King and members of the Council snickered humorously at the young and foolish boy.

"Merlin is a wonder, but the wonder is that he's such an idiot," Arthur said before giving the young boy a noogie. "There's no way he's a sorcerer."

"Don't waste my time again. Let him go," the King ordered. Adrielle let out a sigh of relief as the two guards moved back to their original posts. Gaius stood and bowed before excusing himself from their meeting before ushering Merlin and Adrielle from the room.

~xx~

"Arthur's the idiot!" Merlin said irritated once they had returned to their chambers.

"No. He was right to do what he did," Gaius reprimanded. "And, thankfully, he saved you from your own stupidity."

"What else could I do? It's my fault Gwen's going to die," Merlin sighed angrily.

"Surely there's something else you could do,  _anything_ else, rather than condemning yourself!" Adrielle argued.

"She's right, you don't prove Gwen's innocence by offering to jump into the flames. You do it by finding out what's causing the disease!" Gaius

"Well, whatever it is, one thing's for sure: Arthur isn't going to find it. He thinks he is so sharp!" Merlin mocked. "But even when I told him I was a wizard, he still couldn't see it."

"Sometimes they're pretty hard to spot."

"Well, maybe I should go around wearing a pointy hat," Merlin joked.

"I doubt there's one big enough," Adrielle poked.

" _I doubt there's one big enough!_ " Merlin said in a high-pitched imitation of his sister.

"Anyways, forget that," Gaius continued. "If we're going to save Gwen, we have to find out what's contaminating the water. Come on, you two."

"Where are we going?" Merlin wondered.

"On a little adventure," Gaius replied.


	9. Chapter 9

_The Mark of Nimueh: Part 3_

Adrielle soon discovered Gaius' idea of an adventure consisted of taking them down into the bowels of Camelot to the source of the city's water supply. They had walked a considerable distance along the outskirts of the citadel until they came upon an old wooden door hidden amongst the stones. Gaius produced an old and aged key from his robes and unlocked the door with a solid  _clank_. Merlin lit a spare torch before the trio stepped into the dank darkness.

The trip into darkness made Adrielle oddly reminiscent of the trip she and Merlin had made when they discovered the dragon. The walls became more encased in dew and mold the deeper they walked. Adrielle guessed they hadn't walked as far to the source of the water as they had when they found the dragon, but she could still feel the cold, crisp air trying to seep into her bones.

"The water from here supplies the whole town," Gaius informed as the stairs leveled out into a small cavern. In front of them looked to be a small pool that led to a much more vast collection of water.

"Take a sample," Gaius instructed while handing a small vial to Adrielle. She took the vial obediently and stepped up onto the ledge and towards the pool. She felt the cool water slip over her hand as it dipped into the water.

Adrielle started to withdraw her hand from the water when a strange hand like claw grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the water. Her voice shook as a scream escaped her lips before she was engulfed in the water.

"Adrielle!" Merlin shouted. He and Gaius rushed to the waters edge and tried to fish the young girl out. Adrielle flapped her arms haphazardly in hopes of gaining some footing and find her way back to the surface. Her hand shot out of the water still grasping onto the sample of the contaminated water; although at this point Adrielle was literally drowning in the water.

The creature grabbed her again by the ankle and dragged her deeper into the water. Adrielle's lungs began to burn from the lack of air they were able to take in. Her heart had been racing earlier to fuel her fight or flight response, but she could feel her pulse starting to slow down in a vain attempt to keep her alive as long as possible. She pulled her captive leg back before kicking the monster hard. It released it's grip on her before retreating into its watery home.

Adrielle started to kick her legs frantically and move her arms as if she was trying to claw her way back to the surface. She gasped for sweet air as her head broke the surface. It took her a moment to orient herself before her head bobbed back under the water.

Hands came grabbing for her hands and arms and hurriedly pulled her out of the water.

"Adrielle, are you alright? Did you swallow any of the water?" Gaius inspected quickly.

"No, I'm fine," Adrielle managed between coughing fits. Her teeth started to chatter and her body shake as the air started to remind her she was no longer submerged in water.

"What happened?" Merlin asked quickly.

"I have no bloody idea!" Adrielle started. "Something grabbed onto my wrist and pulled me in! And then when I tried to swim back up it grabbed onto my ankle."

A splash followed by a low groan erupted from behind them. They all turned around in time to see a large creature sinking back into the water.

"Come on, we need to get back and examine this," Gaius ordered, turning the two twins around and ushering them out.

~xx~

"Here. It was an Afanc," Gaius said while pointing to a spot in the book he had open.

"An...a what?" Merlin asked with a scrunch of his eyebrows.

"An  _Afanc_ ," Gaius repeated. "A beast born of clay, and conjured up only by the most powerful sorcerer. Now we have to find a way to defeat it. But where?"

Gaius, Merlin, and the still wet Adrielle looked up at Gaius' collection of research books.

"That could take days. Gwen doesn't have that much time," Adrielle noted.

"Have you got any better ideas?"

"We could try and offer Adrielle back as a human sacrifice?" Merlin suggested.

" _What_?!"

"It already tried to take you once. Maybe it's got a thing for you. A thirst only you can curb," Merlin said with a nonchalant shrug. Adrielle glared at him through narrowed eyebrows before speaking.

"On second thought perhaps your books will provide the answers after all."

~xx~

The familiar sensation of reading past her brain's current capability pierced through Adrielle's skull. She had read through so many words in the past hour they all seemed to blur together. Her eyes could no longer register and transfer what she was seeing to her brain for comprehension. She could have been reading a recipe for an apple pie spiked with rum for all she knew. She highly doubted that would help them save Gwen.

Adrielle lifted her head, which had somehow ended up lying on the open book page, when someone sped into the room like they were on a manhunt.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Gaius inquired. Adrielle's eyes cooperated enough for her to see Merlin riffling through Gaius' books and papers at a speed which she'd never seen him do anything before.

"Looking for a book," he said quickly.

"You going to tell me which one?"

"A book on elements," he clarified.

"Elements?" Adrielle repeated.

"Yes. Which one would I find them in?"

"Well, most of them. The study of base elements is at the very heart of the scientific process," Gaius explained.

"But how would they help me kill the Afanc?" Merlin pressed.

"Well, the Afanc is a creature made from earth and water. That's two of the four base elements," Gaius continued.

"What about the other two?"

"Any ideas, Adrielle?" Gaius asked, using another prime moment to teach the young girl.

"Uhm...well," she started. "I suppose if you've already used earth and water the only two left are fire and air. Is that how we're going to defeat it?"

"It's the best idea I've heard in all day. How did you find this out?" Gaius asked turning to Merlin.

"Erm...I just knew, you know? One of my powers," Merlin replied with a quirk.

"What else do your powers tell you?"

"That I am only one side of a coin. The brighter side, obviously."

"And who's the other side?"

"I think that might be Arthur," Merlin admitted.

"Who on earth told you that rubbish?" Adrielle refuted.

"The same person who said you and Arthur are  _bound by something greater than fate_ ," Merlin said, giving her that same pointed look he'd come to sport whenever she and Arthur were mentioned in the same sentence.

Before she could open her mouth and refuse the possibility of that  _ever_ happening, (she didn't want to be bound to anybody and  _certainly not Arthur Pendgragon_ ), Morgana came storming into their chambers.

"They're bringing forward the execution. We have to prove Gwen's innocence," she said with a quiver of her voice.

"We're trying," Gaius tried to reassure her.

"Please, just tell me what I can do to help," she almost begged. Adrielle didn't take Morgana to be somebody who begged to others, but if she ever came close to this was that moment.

"We need Arthur," Merlin declared.

"Arthur?"

"There's a monster, an Afanc, in the water supply. That's what's causing the plague," Adrielle explained.

"Well, we must tell Uther," Morgana reasoned.

"The Afanc's a creature forged by magic. Telling Uther wouldn't save Gwen. He'd just blame her for conjuring it," Gaius explained.

"So what are we to do?"

"We need to destroy it. Then the plague will stop and Uther may see sense," Merlin decided.

"And that's why you need Arthur," Morgana said with a nod, understanding the problem and Merlin's idea to solve it.

"He's our best chance," Adrielle admitted despite herself. "But he won't disobey his father willingly. Not for Gwen and certainly not for either of us."

"Leave that to me," Morgana said with a declarative authority. "Meet us in front of the steps in the citadel in fifteen minutes." She turned and swept from the room without another word.

~xx~

Fifteen minutes later Adrielle and Merlin stood outside waiting where Morgana had dictated.

"He's not going to come," Merlin kept muttering under his breath.

"Calm down, he'll come. If anyone can talk his conscious into it it's Morgana," Adrielle spoke. As she looked around the courtyard in search of the Prince and the King's ward, she watched the guards come and go. True to the King's word, the execution was moving forward as planned. Well, only if they failed in their mission. In the center of the courtyard the guards began building a pyre for Gwen to ' _die by fire_ '. Adrielle looked away quickly, unable to stomach the thought of what might take place there.

"Well I'll be damned," Merlin breathed, more to himself, as he watched Arthur and Morgana emerge from the castle.

"Told you so," Adrielle teased.

"Come on," Merlin said, ignoring his sister, as he lead the group out. Merlin and Adrielle led the other two through the same path they had taken earlier in the day. Adrielle brought out the same key Gaius had used to unlock the door. She pushed the heavy wooden door open and they descended into the earthy tunnels again.

Arthur took the lead, his torch lighting their way and sword drawn defensively while Morgana took the rear with a torch of her own. The twins directed the group towards the spot where they had gathered the water sample, where Adrielle had been 'chosen' as a human sacrifice, as Merlin liked to put it.

"It could be anywhere around here," Merlin noted.

"You'd better be right about this, Merlin," Arthur barked, swinging his torch around to illuminate the walls around them.

"Would you just trust us for once?" Adrielle sighed, rolling her eyes. "We haven't steered you wrong in the short amount of time we've been here. So why would we now?"

"In my experience trusting the wrong people can get you killed," Arthur replied, sounding oddly older than he should.

"Well give it enough time and you'll trust us with your life," she retorted.

"As if that's not frightening enough as it is," Arthur muttered as they slowly rounded another corner. Before Adrielle could come up with a snarky response a menacing and low growl echoed through the cavern. The group stopped in their tracks and focused. Even as Adrielle listened she couldn't pinpoint where the sound had originated from. It sounded as if the entire underground was filled with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Afanc's all calling out at once. If that were the case she'd probably defecate herself and need to burn yet another pair of her clothes.

"You should stay here, Morgana. You too, Adrielle," Arthur instructed.

"I'm coming with you," Morgana stated.

"No."

"Scared I'll show you up?" she taunted with a playful pout.

"Father will slam us both in chains if he knew I'd endangered you," Arthur snapped.

"Well good thing he doesn't know about it then."

"I'm telling you, Morgana, turn back. You could get hurt," he said protectively.

"You could too...if you don't get out of my way," Morgana said defiantly before brushing past Arthur.

"I like her," Adrielle said approvingly.

"It's not like you'll listen to me either, but you should stay back, too, Adrielle," Arthur said turning to the lone girl.

"In the words of our dear Morgana I quote, _no_."

"This is no place for you. You have no fighting experience or training. What will you do if it attacks? Scare it away with facts about medicine?" Arthur nearly sneered, trying to scare the young girl into running away.

"It's not like any of you have faced this beast either," she said with a raise to her voice. She had to bite her tongue from admitting that  _magic_  was her counterattack to the Afanc. "In fact  _I'm_  the one who's come the closest to this thing. It tried to kidnap me and drown me earlier, and look, I'm still here. So so far the score is one for me and  _none_  for him."

" _Fine_ ," Arthur snapped. "You stubborn women."

"How are we going to find it?" Morgana called.

"I just hope we do before it finds us," Merlin replied.

"We should spread out. We'll be able to cover more ground that way," Arthur decided. He pointed Merlin and Morgana down the opposite halls and started forward down the remaining tunnel.

"I'll just...stay here I guess," Adrielle sighed, turning back to examine the same pool of water she had been swimming in earlier.

"You said it yourself," Arthur called back as he carefully searched his end, "you  _do_  have the most experience dealing with the Afanc. I'm the most experienced warrior here, so it's only natural we should stick together."

"I can't tell if you're joking or being serious," she said with a furrow of her eyebrows.

Arthur turned around, apparently deeming his tunnel safe and Afanc free, before speaking to her again.

"That's just part of my charm," he replied with a playful raise of his eyebrows.

"Now I know you're joking," Adrielle snorted. "As if you have any  _charm._ "

"Are you insulting your Prince?" Arthur questioned, exaggerating the authority in his voice.

"No, I-"

"I could have you thrown in the stocks for that," he continued, feigning insult.

"If I recall you're not  _actually_ the crowned prince, yet," Adrielle said with a smirk.

" _Yet,_ " Arthur reminded. "I could still have you thrown in the stocks or dungeons."

"You're just upset because I don't think you have any charm. I'm just trying to show you the error of your ways," she played.

"Oh really? Is that so? You don't think I have any charm?" Arthur repeated.

"No, not that I've seen so far."

"I'm sure that will change."

Before Adrielle could answer her eyes were drawn to a dark shadow behind Arthur. It moved slowly as it crept up behind the young prince. As her eyes focused and adjusted to the low light she realized the shadowy figure was the Afanc. It stood on its hind legs and brought it's arm back, preparing to strike the unsuspecting Arthur.

"Arthur! Look out!" she cried. Adrielle launched forward and grabbed onto his arm before pulling him back towards her and out of harms way. The pair stumbled back into the ledge of the pool. Arthur knocked into Adrielle and caused her to lose her footing. She could feel herself teetering over the edge and dangerously close to falling into the bloody water again. Arthur's sword fell from his hands as he reached up to catch Adrielle.

"I didn't know you cared,"Arthur said, which translated to Adrielle as a  _thank you_. Suddenly all she could focus on was their new proximity to each other; how close they were still standing to each other. As Arthur spoke she could feel his warm breath on her face. Her body was constantly sending signals to her brain reminding her that his hand still clung protectively to her lower back.

"I care about saving people. It is my job after all. That's why I'm down here searching for the Afanc," was her brain's most intellectual response.

"What is it? Are you alright?" Morgana asked worriedly as she came hurrying back into the area, Merlin on her heels. Arthur let Adrielle go and shot away from her like she was on fire.

"Yeah, we're fine," Arthur answered.

"Did you see it?" Merlin asked.

"Not exactly. Adrielle might have. She pulled me out of it's line of fire," he answered again while nodding towards her.

"What did it look like?"

"It, it's quick. It was gone again before we could get a good look," Adrielle replied.

Morgana's scream pierced the air suddenly as she stumbled backwards.

"What is it?" the trip asked in unison.

"I saw it! There!" Morgana exclaimed while pointing a shaky finger in front of her.

"Where has it gone now?" Arthur questioned impatiently

"I think it's gone this way!" Merlin shouted and directed the group down another tunnel.

Arthur assumed his position in the front again as they tracked down the beast. Adrielle kept her mind and body on high alert, ready to act if the monster struck again. She could feel her magic swimming beneath her skin ready to unleash it's wrath upon the beast when the moment came.

They stopped at a fork in the road and looked down each way trying to determine which way it had gone.

"We should stick together this time," Adrielle said.

"Agreed," Arthur nodded.

They collectively began down the left tunnel when a shadow moved along the edge. Each person stopped as a low growl rumbled from in front of them. A tremble made it's way down Adrielle's back, subconsciously reminding her of her experiences down here earlier. Not that her near death experience had scared her, but it wasn't necessarily an experience she'd jump at the chance to relive.

A large, earthy paw emerged from the shadows followed by another, and a large clay body attached to them both. It was practically the size of a bear as it's jagged body crawled towards them. It's eyes - God could it even  _see_? Where Adrielle assumed it's eyes should be were jagged abscesses. The Afanc opened it's grotesque mouth and revealed several rows of sharp and mismatched teeth.

"Arthur, the torch!" Merlin shouted. Arthur parried against the Afanc with a wave of his torch. Adrielle sunk back towards her brother, realizing now was their moment.

" _Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan_ ," they incanted in unison. Their eyes flashed gold as a gust of wind tousled Adrielle's air. The force of wind reacted with the fire and set it into an eruptious blast towards the Afanc. Everyone was forced to shield their eyes from intense light shift as the fire came into contact with the beast. It screamed in agony as it started melting until all that was left was a burning pile of melted clay.

Merlin gave Adrielle a congratulatory pat on the back as they shared a brief look of accomplishment. Adrielle breathed a sigh of relief as she looked over Morgana and Arthur. Neither seemed to notice that they had been the ones who conjured the wind. They must have been too caught up in the attack that neither heard their spell.

Arthur sank back on his heels as he eyed the puddle of Afanc suspiciously. The Afanc was a creature if magic; it appeared to be defeated, but he wouldn't put it past it to spring back to life any moment and take them all out. To have multiple scapegoats and fail safes so that it never truly perished. When all seemed well and nothing would spring out of the shadows unexpectedly, he turned to his companions to make sure they were alright.

"Are you alright, Morgana?"

"Yes," she replied, clearly still a bit shaken up from the attack.

"Merlin? Adrielle?" he asked turning to them. Merlin nodded in response.

"I do believe that makes two for us and none for you," Adrielle remarked while holding up two fingers.

"What?"

"Two instances where you were right to trust us."

~xx~

Immediately once they had returned to the surface Arthur and Morgana raced off to find the King and explain what had happened, using their first hand accounts as evidence. Even Gaius had evidence to provide. Those who had gotten sick, and were still fighting for their lives, were already on their way to making a steady recovery. The King, unable to deny that the disease had stopped spreading and those affected were healing all without the death of Gwen, ordered for her to be released and dropped her charges.

Merlin and Adrielle, along with Morgana and Gwen's father, all made their way down to the dungeons. The guard on duty unlocked Gwen's cell door and undid her chains.

"You're free to go," he announced before exiting the cell. Gwen looked from each person confused and surprised. Her father enveloped her suddenly in his embrace and held her tightly.

"But...I don't understand?" Gwen stammered. "I mean I'm not guilty but I didn't think the King would reverse my sentence! What on earth made him change his mind?"

"We discovered and eliminated the real source of the disease. He couldn't deny the evidence, the eyewitness accounts from Morgana and Arthur," Adrielle explained with a smile.

"Really? Thank you, my Lady."

"Oh don't thank me. It was more Merlin and Adrielle. They're the ones you should be thanking. Without their knowledge of the creature none of this could have happened," Morgana said, shooting a smile towards the siblings. "All Arthur did was swing a torch."

"I don't know what to say," Gwen said while swallowing hard.

"I didn't do anything. Less than Arthur actually," Merlin said with a humble shrug.

"I'm- I'm grateful to you all," Tom thanked. Gwen left his arms to give Adrielle a tight hug before departing. She could only imagine what Gwen would do first with her newfound freedom. Go for a walk, smell the fresh air, run through the woods, sleep in her own bed.

Once Tom and Gwen were out of earshot, Morgana turned to Merlin and Adrielle.

"Merlin. I wanted you to know, your secret's safe with me," she said.

"What? My secret?" Merlin asked feigning ignorance.

"Merlin, don't pretend. I know what you did," she continued. Adrielle looked at her brother from the corners of her eyes, already preparing a million and a half excuses to cover up their tracks.

"You do?" Merlin continued.

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"You did?" Adrielle hesitated.

"I understand why you don't anyone to know," she said with an understanding nod.

"Well, obviously," Merlin said, giving up his pretending act.

"But I won't tell anyone," she insisted. "You don't mind me talking to you about it?"

"Er...no. I, I, it's, er...you have no idea how hard it is to keep this hidden," Merlin's said, his voice picking up enthusiasm. Finally someone besides his sister and Gaius he could go to about his magic. It was a weight off his shoulders. In reality it was five pounds of relief from thousands of pounds pressing in on him, but even the little difference made it easier for him to breathe.

"Well, you can continue to deny it, but I think Gwen's a very lucky woman," Morgana said with a warm smile.

"Gwen?" Merlin sputtered. Morgana smiled mischievously and put her finger to her lips.

"It's our secret," she said with a small wink before leaving the cell.

Adrielle bit her lip as a snort escaped her mouth.

"It's not funny," Merlin said, now slightly annoyed.

"Oh yes it is. Everyone else can clearly see your feelings for her. You're only trying to convince yourself at this point," she said with a smirk. Merlin shoved his sisters shoulder playfully before leaving the cell himself. He was half tempted to shut the door behind him and lock her in; let her experience a night in the cells for once. Maybe then she'd no longer be Gaius' 'favorite'.

~xx~

Adrielle was more than pleased to finally sit down to a meal and not be surrounded by dead bodies or their decrepit organs. The physicians chambers were chambers once again and not something that resembled a morgue. They were finally suitable for both the living  _and_ dead to inhabit, although Adrielle prayed the later wouldn't be an issue any time in the near future.

Gaius served the pair their dinners and sat down to enjoy his own meal. Merlin lifted his fork to his lips and chewed a few times before freezing.

"This fish didn't come from the water, did it?" Merlin asked while curiously inspecting his meal.

"Well, where else is it going to come from? The sky?" Gaius replied humorously. Merlin opened his mouth to spit out his food when Gaius spoke. "The water's fine now. That's not your worry. This is the work of a very powerful sorcerer. I only hope you didn't come to her attention."

"Doubt it. Well no one else seems to appreciate our skills. I just want someone to see me for who I am," Merlin sighed.

"And what  _exactly_ is that?" Adrielle wondered.

"I dunno, something other than a lazy, fumbling, good for nothing servant."

"Oh come on, you're more than that," Adrielle replied.

"Really?" Merlin said hopefully.

"Yeah. You're also a lousy brother," Adrielle teased. Merlin frowned at her playfully. Merlin rolled his eyes and sighed impatiently.

"Thank you so much, Adrielle."

She flashed him a cheeky grin before giggling shortly.

"One day, Merlin. One day," Gaius trailed.

"One day what?" Merlin asked.

"One day people won't believe what an idiot you were," Gaius joked.

"And that's where I come in, right? To remind everyone what was like during our childhood?" Adrielle insisted.

"Thanks you two," Merlin grumbled. "Where would I be without you?"


	10. Chapter 10

_The Poisoned Chalice: Part 1_

One thing after another seemed to happen within Camelot's walls. There were brief moments of relief before another gust of wind would roll in and bring with it another storm. Adrielle supposed not everything 'big' that happened to Camelot would necessarily be all bad. It wouldn't always be dramatic and unknowingly life threatening. Sometimes the talk of the town would be that of a civil and diplomatic nature, rather than death, destruction, chaos, and insanity.

From Adrielle's very first day in Camelot she had heard whispers and gossip about Camelot's tensions with the kingdom of Mercia. For ages the two had been at ends with each other. Getting into aggressive disputes that would ultimately lead to brutal wars with each other. Many of the people had forgotten how things had come to such a heated point, they just always had been that way for as long as anyone could remember. Much blood had been shed and many lives lost on both sides.

Now it seemed that the two ruling Kings had decided enough was enough. They would put on their big boy armor and settle this like proper diplomats. There would be no more war. The two kingdoms were be joined in friendship. King Uther and King Bayard would meet to sign a peace treaty and end the ongoing war. Nobles and delegates from Mercia would meet in Camelot, today actually, to sign the treaty and to celebrate the only way kings and royals know how to; with elaborate feasts and parties.

Adrielle had been close on Gaius' heels for the past couple of days. Gaius was determined to get as much done as he could before Bayard and his men arrived. The pair had been visiting as many patients as they could, preparing as many potions and remedies as possible. Gaius wanted their attention to be completely focused on Bayard and Mercia when they arrived. Adrielle wasn't exactly sure why, but she followed Gaius along and obeyed none the less.

Merlin had been just as busy running around behind Arthur and helping as all the other servants prepared for the Mercia royals to arrive. Adrielle spotted Merlin approaching them from down the hallway, shuffling his way with a large and bulging bag.

"Why do I always get landed with the donkey work?" Merlin whined while setting down the bag clumsily.

"You're a servant, Merlin. It's what you do," Gaius lectured.

"My arms will be a foot longer by the time I get this lot inside," Merlin continued to complain.

"It's character building. As the old proverb says, hard work breeds," Gaius paused, searching for the rest of his inspirational phrase. "A harder soul."

Adrielle and Merlin both looked at each other sideways and shared a suspicious look.

"There is no way that's how the proverb goes," Adrielle said.

"You just made that last bit up," Merlin accused.

"No I didn't," Gaius defended. Before either twin could protest another

serving girl tripped awkwardly and was sent tumbling to the ground, dropping all of the sheets she was carrying in the process.

"Sorry," the girl apologized to Merlin's feet.

"It's alright," Merlin replied. "Let me give you a hand with that."

Adrielle watched as her brother crouched down next to the servant girl to help her out. Merlin paused as he looked up and caught her stunning blue eyes. There seemed to be an abundance of blue eyes in Camelot, but these were like none other Merlin had ever seen. They were the darkest and yet vibrant shade, like the dark depths of the ocean Merlin had heard stories of before.

"Hi. I'm Merlin," he said after a moment. Merlin's face flushed the slightest before offering her his hand in greeting. She took it and shook it gently before responding.

"Cara," she replied softly. She looked at Merlin carefully, thinking to herself before speaking again. "You're Arthur's servant, aren't you? I saw you by his side earlier. That must be such an honor."

"Oh, yeah. It is," Merlin stumbled over his words. "Well, you know, someone's got to keep the place running."

Adrielle coughed to cover up the snort of laughter that arose in the back of her throat. She looked over at Gaius to see him giving Merlin a look with a raised eyebrow. Merlin shrugged over Cara's shoulder innocently.

"Thank you, Merlin," Cara said while looking up at him under her lashes. Merlin turned his attention back to Cara looking at her confused. She lowered her eyes to the pillows Merlin still held in his hands.

"Oh, right. Yeah. Er, no problem," he replied quickly while handing over the pillows he had picked up.

"It was nice meeting you," Cara said with a small smile before taking off down the hallway. Merlin turned and watched her as she left, following her all the way with his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be busy running the place?" Adrielle mocked slightly. Merlin turned back around to face his sister, only to glare at her sarcastically. She took a step back and threw her hands up in mock surrender. "Your words. Not mine."

~xx~

Back inside of her chambers Adrielle was seated at the wooden table reading through some of Gaius' loose notes on medicine.

"Here, eat up," Gaius said while placing a plate of food in front of Adrielle. "I'm afraid you won't have much of an opportunity to eat for the rest of tonight."

"Uhm, Gaius. I'm always grateful for food but you do remember there is a huge banquet tonight, right?" Adrielle said while eyeing over the plate of food.

"I remember," Gaius replied, "it just seems that tonight you will not find yourself as a guest to the banquet, per say"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It just means that you'll be there...serving the guests," Gaius replied after a pause.

" _What?_  But I'm not a servant!" Adrielle protested.

"Not officially, no. But when I informed the King that you would be practicing as my apprentice I might have added that you would also be willing to serve if the occasion ever arose," Gaius recalled.

"Oh, Gaius no," Adrielle whined.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but it is true. I can't imagine it will be all that bad. You're not a full time servant, just willing to help out for very prestigious circumstances. This won't be a common occurrence surely, only whenever the King wants to show off and impress someone. You'll be back to your usual duties tomorrow," Gaius spoke.

"Well that's great and all but I don't know how to be a servant and serve people," Adrielle continued while taking a bite of her chicken defeatedly.

"It's not all that difficult," Gaius shrugged.

"How would you know? Have you ever been a servant?"

"Well no, but Merlin can help you out tonight," Gaius said.

"Oh great, cause that's exactly what I wanted from my night tonight," Adrielle sighed sarcastically.

"Gwen will surely offer you a helping hand. You two will be able to spend the night together if that helps," Gaius offered.

"I guess it does a little."

"Good. Now hurry up and eat your dinner. You'll be wanted in the Hall of Ceremonies before too long."

~xx~

"Serving isn't all that hard," Gwen said to Adrielle. "I've managed to keep a job in it for a few years."

"Yes, but thats because you're exceptionally gifted at it," Adrielle said from behind Gwen.

From the moment she had stepped into the Hall a knot had formed and lodged itself in Adrielle's stomach. She attributed it to nerves from the thought of serving. Throughout the course of the evening Adrielle decided she would stick as close to Gwen as she could. If she stuck by a trusted and experienced servant she figured there would be less of a chance of something going wrong and the blame falling on her.

"I'm not sure that's quite true, but thank you," Gwen said with a soft smile. "I'm not sure why you're so anxious, but just stick close to me and everything will be alright. Do you want to know the fun part about being a servant at these feasts?"

"There's a fun part?" Adrielle asked skeptically.

"There can be."

"Well I don't know what you're idea of fun is but mine includes making fun of Merlin," Adrielle said while pointing towards her brother. She had been staring at him for the past couple of minutes, trying desperately to realize who the giant buffoon was. Merlin wore a generic red serving shirt with the Pendragon crest on it and a red cape attached. On top of his head he wore a hat that resembled a great, dead, tropical bird. Adrielle wasn't sure where the hat itself began and were the giant, fluffy, red and green feathers that sprouted from the hat started. Merlin wore a grim face as he walked around and served Arthur his wine and spirits.

"Nice hat," Gwen said to Merlin as the two girls approached him.

"I didn't know you had such a sense of fashion, Merlin. Or rather lack thereof," Adrielle joked while stroking the ridiculous feathers.

"Thanks," Merlin grumbled while trying to shake his sister off. "It was Arthur's great idea. He said these were the 'official ceremonial robes' or something."

Adrielle watched as Arthur turned around to look at the trio. He stifled a grin and bit down on his tongue to keep himself from laughing. He gave Merlin a thumbs up and managed a cheeky grin before turning back around. Merlin shook his head unimpressed.

Adrielle noticed a subtle but sudden change in her brother's demeanor. Merlin was much more still than normal and attempted to stand up straighter, increasing the already present difference in their heights. Adrielle scanned the hall, curious as to who could conjure such a response from her brother. Within seconds she spotted an oddly familiar pair of vibrant blue eyes staring at Merlin from amongst Bayard's servants.

"She's pretty," Gwen said, also noticing Merlin's shift in attention. "I mean for a handmaiden."

"She's beautiful enough for a princess, let alone a handmaid," Merlin said in an airy voice.

"What was her name again?" Adrielle asked.

"Cara."

"What? You know her?" Gwen asked confused.

"Not really. We bumped into her earlier today. Well Merlin did. He seems to have taken quite a fancying to her already," Adrielle teased lightly.

"I have not!" Merlin said defensively, breaking his gaze on Cara only to glare at his sister.

"Mhm," Adrielle hummed before crossing the hall silently, coming to stand next to Gaius.

Adrielle and the rest of the members in the hall watched as King Uther and Lord Bayard stood from their respective tables and crossed from opposite ends of the hall, meeting at a table in the middle. In turn each man picked up a quill and signed the peace treaty. Uther and Bayard grasped forearms as the hall erupted in applause.

"People of Camelot, for a great many years we have been mortal enemies, and the blood of our men stains the ground from the walls of Camelot to the gates of Mercia. Though we remember those who have died, we must not allow any more to join them," Bayard spoke as he paced up the hall to the table where Arthur and Morgana sat rejoined by Uther.

"As a symbol of our goodwill," he continued, "and of our newfound friendship, I present these ceremonial goblets to you, Uther, and to your son, Arthur, in the hope that our friendship may last."

A serving girl from Mercia entered and stood next to Bayard, opening the box she held containing the new ceremonial goblets. Adrielle felt her gaze absentmindedly slip from Bayard, who had begun talking about peace between the two kingdoms, and start to travel across the hall. She stopped when she noticed that she did not see Merlin or his ridiculous hat. She quickly scanned the hall again, keeping a special eye out for Cara. Adrielle made a confused face when she couldn't spot either of them in the hall and started to wonder where the pair could have gotten off to.

_Actually, no_ , Adrielle thought.  _I don't want to know where those two of gone off to_.

Adrielle directed her attention back to Uther, who was now preaching about peace, in hopes of keeping her mind off Merlin and out of the gutter.

Arthur scanned the hall for his servant and that glorious hat he had presented Merlin. When he failed to find Merlin, which he would have a fun time dealing out the karma Merlin deserved for straying away from his job and responsibilities, he settled on the next closest thing.

" _Adrielle_!" he hissed over to his right. The young girl jumped suddenly, her focus snapping from Bayard and Uther over to Arthur. He beckoned discreetly for her to come over.

"What?" she whispered in his ear, trying to remain hidden.

"I need you to fill my goblet from Bayard," he commanded.

"What? Why me?"

"Well it may have escaped your notice but your idiot of a brother is conveniently missing. So, as his sister, his duties fall on you," Arthur explained.

"I don't think that's how it works," she rebutted.

"Well I don't care what you think," he snapped.

"There's no need to be rude, I was merely questioning your flawed logic," she said while grabbing the nearest jug of wine.

"People don't usually question my logic they just obey orders, and with less sass," Arthur replied.

"I would have done it without the sass if you had just been polite. Used some manners," she responded while filling up his goblet as instructed. She set the jug down when the goblet was full enough, picked it up and handed it to Arthur.

"Thank you," he said flatly, taking the goblet from her.

"You're welcome,  _sire_. Now was that so hard to do?" Adrielle sunk back a few paces and watched as Bayard began his toast.

"May the differences from our past remain there. To your health, Uther. To Arthur, to the Lady Morgana, to the people of Camelot!"

"And to fallen warriors on both sides," Uther added while raising his goblet.

" _Stop_!" somebodies voice echoed through the hall. "Don't drink that!"

Quick footsteps reverberated through the hall before the panicked voice shouted again.

"Don't drink that! It's been poisoned!" Merlin shouted. The cup was already pressed to Arthur's lips when Merlin swooped in and took it away.

"What?" Uther inquired.

Arthur looked bewildered from Merlin to Adrielle and back. She held her hands up in surrender, already knowing how someone's simple minded logic might go. The wine is poisoned, Adrielle was the last person to touch it, so obviously she had tried to poison him. It was blatantly obvious to some. Oh, and if they only knew she had magic? Everyone in the kingdom would immediately suspect her, just because she had magic.

"I didn't touch your wine, Arthur. I swear," Adrielle confessed.

"No, it wasn't her. It was Bayard."

Everyone in the hall gasped collectively at this shocking revelation. Bayard and his people from Mercia were here to sign peace treaties and end the fighting with Camelot. Why would they try to poison Arthur?

"Merlin, what  _are_  you doing?" Arthur pressed.

"Bayard laced Arthur's goblet with poison," Merlin continued.

"This is an outrage!" Bayard raged. He reached for his sword and withdrew it from it's sheath. Both Bayard's knights and Camelot's knights followed suit and were aimed at the other. Guards from Camelot rushed in from the outskirts of the hall and boxed in everyone, including Bayard and his men.

"Order your men to put down their swords," Uther commanded. "You are outnumbered."

"I will not allow this insult to go unchallenged," Bayard sneered as he stared daggers a Merlin.

"On what grounds do you base this accusation?" Uther asked turning now to the young serving boy.

"I'll handle this," Arthur said while starting around the table. He snatched the goblet from Merlin and steered him towards his father by the nape of his neck. "Merlin,  _you idiot_. Have we been at the slow gin again?"

"Unless you want to be strung up by your toes, boy, you will tell me why you think it is poisoned.  _Now_ ," Uther demanded.

"He was seen lacing it," Merlin admitted.

"By whom?" Uther pressed.

Merlin hesitated a moment before responding. "I cannot say."

"I won't listen to this insolent rubbish anymore," Bayard shouted.

"Pass me the goblet," Uther ushered. Arthur handed the goblet over to his father. He lifted it to his nose as if he could try and detect any trace of poison simply with his sense of smell. "If you're telling the truth-"

"I am," Bayard interjected.

"Then you have nothing to fear, do you?"

Bayard considered this momentarily before sheathing his sword again. Weapon concealed he reached his hand out indicating he was willing to test the so called 'poisoned' wine.

"No," Uther said shortly. "If it does prove to be poison I want the pleasure of killing you myself."

Bayard snorted at this, still adamant that he had no intention of poisoning Arthur.

"Then who is going to test it?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"He'll drink it," Uther said, raising the goblet up to Merlin.

"But if it is poison he'll die!" Arthur protested.

"Then we'll know he was telling the truth. His sacrifice will be an honorable one, even in death. In mortem."

"And what if it's not? What if he lives?" Adrielle asked in a shaky voice.

"Then you have my apologies, Lord Bayard, and you may do with him as you will," Uther proclaimed.

"Playtime's over, Merlin," Adrielle said while rushing forward to her brother. "I don't know where you got this crazy idea that Bayard's trying to murder Arthur but put it to rest, okay? If you're right by some kind of crazy coincidence then you'll die and if you're wrong, like usual, well- you're as good as dead!"

"And if I do and let Arthur drink this then he's dead," Merlin said seriously.

"This is no time to play the hero!"

"Too late."

"Uther, please! He doesn't know what he's saying, he's just a boy," Gaius pleaded.

"Then you should have schooled him better."

"Merlin, apologize. This is a mistake. I'll drink it!" Arthur argued reaching for the goblet in question.

"No, no, no, no. It's alright. I'll drink it," Merlin protested. He toasted to Byard and his men before turning and toasting to Uther and Arthur.

"Merlin. Please," Adrielle whispered.

"Cheers," he said toasting to her before drinking. In three hearty gulps Merlin had emptied the goblet of all wine.

The tension hung in the air and pressed on Adrielle violently. None of the possible outcomes were pleasant. If the wine was poisoned he'd more than likely die, unless Gaius could miraculously deliver an antidote in time. Which for some unknown reason Adrielle felt wouldn't be the case. If it was poison no antidote could be retrieved in time. And if it wasn't poison Bayard would 'get his way with him', whatever that meant. It could mean anything. With his past of bloodthirsty tendencies she didn't feel Merlin's future was very bright there. Either way it seemed he was lost.

"It's...it's fine," Merlin said confused. He had been so sure the wine was poison, so it was a huge shock for him to still be perfectly fine.

"He's all yours," Uther waved dismissively. Adrielle sighed heavily and closed her eyes. She didn't want to see Bayard's men drag Merlin off.

_It might be the last time you ever see him,_  she thought.

_No! Don't think like that. He's your brother. He can't just disappear like that. He can't. Not for good._

If any one ever asked her again Adrielle would swear she could almost feel her throat begin to close up seconds before Merlin's hands clasped onto his throat and started making choking noises. It could have just been her mind playing tricks on her, but she would swear otherwise.

"Merlin?" Adrielle gasped. If he was just pretending to be poisoned to avoid Bayard's wrath she'd probably end up killing him herself. But as Adrielle watched in horror as her brother choked and gasped for air she knew he wasn't joking. He wasn't that good of an actor. She watched as his eyes grew wide and shined with fear before rolling back in his head. His eyelids closed as he fell to the floor unconscious. The goblet hit the ground with a metallic clank that rang throughout the hall, rolling away from his limp hand.

" _Merlin!_ " Adrielle shrieked.

"It is poison," Uther exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror. "Seize him!"

As the guards rushed forward to corner Bayard in, Adrielle was the first to run forward and kneel next to her brother's body.

"Merlin? Merlin, come on you've got to get up you great buffoon," she cried shaking his shoulders. In her mild panic she pulled her hand back and slapped him across his face. "For the love of God please wake up."

"I don't think that's helping any," Arthur said from behind Adrielle. He had rushed forward and was looking over Merlin's body as Gaius came and knelt on Merlin's other side.

"Well it's not hurting him any!" Adrielle rebutted.

"Merlin? Can you hear me?" Gaius asked. He touched the inside of Merlin's wrist, searching for a pulse. He opened each of Merlin's eyes to take a better look at them.

"Gaius, what do we do?" Adrielle asked quickly.

"We've got to get him to my chambers. Bring the goblet, we need to identify the poison," Gaius instructed.

Arthur stepped forward and gently pushed Adrielle back from her brother. She watched as he bent down and grabbed onto each of Merlin's arms and pulled him up and over his shoulders. She turned around to pick up the goblet but Gwen had already beaten her to it. Adrielle kept her eyes on her brother as the group rushed back to Gaius' chambers. She watched helplessly as Merlin's body flopped around like a rag doll as Arthur carried him.

_What have you gotten yourself into, Merl_?

~xx~

"Lay him on the bed quickly; he's struggling to breathe. Gwen, fetch me some water and a towel," Gaius instructed calmly once they were back inside their chambers. Adrielle knew keeping calm was an important part of the physician job, but she couldn't understand how Gaius was still so calm when it was Merlin who's life was at stake. Maybe it came from years of practice, or maybe it was all just an act, a professional façade Gaius had. Maybe it was both.  
"Is he going to be alright?" Arthur asked once Merlin was on the bed.

Adrielle looked over her brother more carefully. His face had already lost some of it's natural colour and was covered in a fine but increasing layer of sweat. His body shook lightly with tremors every minute or so.

"He's burning up," Gaius remarked after feeling Merlin's skin.

"You can cure him, can't you Gaius?" Gwen quaked. She had returned with the bucket of water and cloth like Gaius instructed. He took the items from her and dipped the cloth in the water before placing it on Merlin's forehead.

"I won't know until I can identify the poison. Pass me the goblet," Gaius instructed. "Adrielle, can you take over here?"

The young girl nodded quietly, keeping her mouth shut, and took the cloth from Gaius. She feared that if she tried to speak her voice would shake too much or her words would come out in a mess of incoherent mumbles. She felt the cool water on her hand as she immersed it in the bucket of water. When she pulled her hand back she realized it was shaking so intensely that water was falling everywhere from her cloth. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself.

_Come on, Adrielle_ , she chastised herself.  _He's just another patient. Pretend he's just some random drunkard off the streets. He's not your brother. Your stupid, naive, inconceivable brother. He's not your kind, protective, goofy, lovable brother._

Adrielle felt another tremor through her body as she tried to begin cooling his forehead. She took another deep breath to ease herself but to no avail. A soft touch on Adrielle's shoulder caused her to jump slightly.

"I can look after him," Gwen said with a soft smile.

Adrielle swallowed hard and nodded before answering.

"Thank you," she said quietly with a forced smile. She handed the cloth to Gwen before standing up and joining Gaius and Arthur.

"Ah," Gaius exclaimed while he examined the goblet closer. "There's something stuck on the inside."

"What is it?" Arthur questioned.

Gaius grabbed a small pair of tweezers and delicately plucked the object from inside of the goblet. He brought the tweezers close to his face and examined the object closely.

"It looks like a flower petal of some kind. Hold onto this, will you?" Gaius said while handing Adrielle the petal. She started to look at it in her cupped hand but had trouble focusing on it, realizing her hand was still shaking. She brought her other hand up to cup her left and steady it. Now that she could focus on the petal more clearly she noted that it was almost transparent, a faint purple colour tinted from the wine. She could easily see how it could go unnoticed stuck to the inside of a goblet.

"His brow's on fire," Gwen said, snapping Adrielle's attention away from the flower petal.

"Keep him cool; it'll help control his fever," Gaius instructed. He had turned to his massive collection of books in search of the one that contained the identity of the mysterious flower petal. His eyes scanned the spines of his books while his fingers trailed behind, gliding over the aged leather. They stopped when he found the book in question and ripped it from its shelf. Gaius began frantically flipping through pages to find the answer. Gaius' hand shot from his side and grabbed onto Adrielle's wrists and pulled her closer to him. He brought his eyes up from the book only to examine the petal once more before looking back down.

"Ah," Gaius said triumphantly once he found what he needed. "The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower."

Arthur, who had picked up the goblet and began examining it himself, set it back down and came to stand behind Adrielle to view the book.

"It says here," Gaius continued, "that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

"What the bloody hell is  _that_?" Adrielle asked while staring wide-eyed at a picture of a beast drawn in the book. It was like nothing Adrielle had ever seen before. It looked as if a dragon and a chicken had mated and this was their offspring. The beast stood on two chicken legs with a long lizard tail sprouting from its end. Scales mixed in with feathers covered the animal. For arms it had wings with long skinny appendages attached. It's head was the perfect mix between chicken and dragon.

"That doesn't look particularly friendly," Arthur commented.

"A Cockatrice. It guards the forest and its venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive."

"Is there no hope?" Gwen asked desperately.

"Unless someone can get past the cockatrice and return with the petal in time, alive, then I'm afraid not," Gaius answered.

"But it's not totally impossible, right? I mean the book says  _few_  have returned, but not no one. Someone had to make it there and back in order to poison Merlin, so someone else should be able to make it there and back in order to save him," Adrielle theorized.

"Sounds like fun," Arthur said once making up his mind.

"Arthur, it's too dangerous," Gaius warned.

"When I said somebody could make it back alive I didn't mean  _you_  should go," Adrielle said quickly.

"If I don't get the antidote, what happens to Merlin?" Arthur asked Gaius looking from him, to Adrielle, and then to Gwen and Merlin's body.

"The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death . He may hold out for four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually...he will die."

"Then that's all the convincing I need," Arthur said while walking out, giving one last look at Merlin.

~xx~

"Arthur, wait!" Adrielle called while trying to catch up to him.

"There's no chance of talking me out if this if that's what you're thinking of doing," Arthur called over his shoulder, slowing his pace slightly so the girl could catch up.

"Well fine I won't then, but I want to come with you," Adrielle said defiantly. Arthur stopped suddenly and turned around to face her, chuckling.

"No offense, but I can't see what help a little girl would be. You'll just get in the way," Arthur scoffed.

"I'm more than just a little girl," Adrielle snapped. She wasn't sure if Arthur meant to sound so condescending or if it was just part of his natural tone.

Arthur internally rolled his eyes and scoffed under his breath. Sure, this little girl might seem like more than what she was, to  _herself_ , but all Arthur saw when he looked at her was a liability. She might be tougher and more headstrong than he had originally anticipated, but still, she was nothing more than a little girl who spent her time studying medicine. If anyone should risk their life for Merlin it shouldn't be his sister, his closest living relative in Camelot. If anyone would go it would be him. Arthur. Future King of Camelot. The head of his Knights. Arthur could practically guarantee his return and Merlin's livelihood. If Adrielle accompanied him...not so much.

"Adrielle," Arthur started, "I appreciate the offer but Merlin needs you. Here, in Camelot. When I return, and I  _will_  return, he needs his sister here. Besides, this is what I do best."

"Rescuing damsels in distress?" Adrielle asked sarcastically.

"Precisely," Arthur replied with a cocky smile. "You need to stay here and do what you do best."

"And what exactly is that? Constantly worrying over Merlin?" Adrielle asked pointedly.

"You said it, not me," Arthur said feigning innocence. "Look, I know I'm the prince-"

"Not quite yet," Adrielle interjected.

"I'm not the crowned prince  _yet_ , so you don't have to answer this, but if it really came down to one life over the other, if only one of us could live, don't tell me you wouldn't want Merlin to live. I might be royalty, but I'm no one to you. Merlin on the other hand, he's your brother. I'll be back in a couple of days," Arthur finished and turned back down the corridor.

Adrielle stood there thinking about what Arthur had said. He was right. God knows she would never admit that to him, for multiple reasons. Sure it was supposed to be their destinies to protect Arthur, but did that really mean with their lives? Even if it did, Adrielle would rather Arthur die so Merlin could live. She felt terribly guilty admitting that to herself, but it was true.

Adrielle started back towards her chambers slowly while mulling over the nights events. She had never imagined tonight playing out like this. With the two bitter rival kingdoms in close proximity she thought that maybe,  _maybe_ , there might be a scuffle between the two, maybe even the start of a Great War. But she had never foreseen Merlin getting caught in the crossfire and being the only causality.

Upon entering her chambers the atmosphere felt different. The rush of confused adrenaline trying to figure out what had happened to Merlin and how to save him was gone. Gone with Arthur on his heroes quest. Now all that was left for them to do was wait for Arthur to return in time. Gwen was still sitting next to Merlin when Adrielle returned..

"Where's Arthur?" Gwen asked when she noticed Adrielle's reappearance.

"Off to save Merlin, I guess," Adrielle replied, trying desperately to avert her eyes from Merlin's pale body.

"I know it's hard not to worry, but if Arthur's taken up the mission it's in good hands. He will be able to return with the flower and save Merlin," Gwen spoke, attempting to give Adrielle some form of comfort.

"She's right," Gaius chimed in. "Merlin's fate rests in Arthur's hands now. We must put our faith in him."

~xx~

Adrielle spent the night sitting at one of the tables trying desperately to distract herself. She had already chewed her fingernails down to the tips of her fingers and continued gnawing on them until she drew blood. When the pain in her fingers and taste of blood became too much for her, she decided it was time for her to switch mediums. She found one of Gaius' many books on medicine and tried to make as many potions as she could.

It was well past the time most people would be awake, but Adrielle still couldn't sleep. She found the page that contained the potion for anxiety Gaius had made her. Maybe if she weren't so anxious she'd be able to get some sleep. She was staring blankly into her mortar as she began crushing her ingredients.

"Adrielle," Gaius said from her side, gently touching her shoulder as he did. Adrielle jumped so violently the she tipped over her mortar with her flailing hands and almost spilled all of its contents.

"I'm sorry, my child, I didn't mean to frighten you," Gaius said with a light chuckle.

"What? No, no, you didn't frighten me. Just startled me, that's all," Adrielle muttered as she began to clean up her mess.

"What are you still doing up?" Gaius inquired.

"Can't sleep. Too much anxiety and such," she replied. "What are you doing up at this hour? You didn't wake up just to scare little 'ole me?"

"I thought you said I didn't frighten you?" Gaius replied with a grin. "No, I just got up to get a fresh pail of water for Merlin. You should try and get some sleep, Adrielle."

"I really which I could," the young girl sighed. "I've tried making these sleeping drafts we give to Morgana. I don't know if I've made them incorrectly or if they just aren't working for me."

"Perhaps if you tried something a little bit  _stronger_ ," Gaius said with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"You can make a stronger potion? How?" Adrielle asked intrigued.

"Not I, necessarily, but I'm sure you possess a power that could enhance the potions effects," Gaius said, tiptoeing carefully around the subject.

"Gaius!" Adrielle said, feigning shock. "You aren't suggesting what I think you are, are you?"

"No, no, of course not. But you know, you'd don't have to rely on Merlin to be able to produce magic. I know it's inside of you, too. He's not the only one capable of greatness," Gaius said while placing a fresh washcloth on Merlin's forehead. His body flinched from the sudden presence of cold water before settling back down. Adrielle watched Gaius' back as he moved, cleaning up the rest of his work before retreating back to bed. She looked down at the most recent sleeping potion she had made, thinking over Gaius' words.

So far it had seemed like Merlin was the only one using his magic for any real purpose. Sure she had caused the chandelier to fall on the old woman, but Merlin had been the one to receive the glory over saving Arthur. Merlin had been the one to turn Beacon into a real dog and he was one who exposed Valiant for the snake that he really was. Adrielle took down the the Afnac, but even then that as with Merlin's help. Adrielle didn't want to rely on Merlin to get them out of every problematic situation they ran into along the way. She wasn't jealous of him by any means, but still. She would never get any credit for the things she accomplished with magic, but it would still be nice to  _know_ she could accomplish things with magic. With _out_  her brothers help.

"Gwen, what are you doing back here? I thought you'd gone home for the night," Gaius inquired. Adrielle looked around to the door and spotted Gwen standing in the doorway. Adrielle had been halfway up the stairs to her room and fully prepared to practice magic. There was no way she could sleep without any "magical" aid, but she didn't want to practice and have Gwen accidentally walk in on her. Adrielle wouldn't know what to say or what excuse to give. She didn't expect Gwen to be understanding if Adrielle was caught; they weren't good enough friends yet. Sure it had been magic that had saved her father, but it had also been magic Gwen had been convicted of and almost burnt on the pyre for.

"I...I just wanted to check on Merlin. I left to attend to the Lady Morgana, but she said she could look after herself. She thought it was more important for me to be here," Gwen practically choked. Gaius replied with a curt nod.

"Any word on Arthur?" Adrielle asked.

"Yes, Morgana tells me he ran into a slight hitch. He was all prepared to leave but his father got to him first. He forbade him to go on this 'fools quest', or so he called. He would never let his only son risk his life like this for a servant," Gwen explained.

"There's good news, I hope?" Adrielle asked again.

"There is. Morgana went to Arthur and persuaded him to go. He left a couple of hours ago."

Adrielle let out a soft breath.  _Good. At least Arthur was still proceeding with his mission for Merlin. He might have hell to pay when he got back, but he would return. Hopefully._

"If you're here to look after Merlin he should be all right for the night. I'll be sleeping out here. I'll be alerted to any changes in his state," Gaius said.

"You can sleep in my room if you want. It feels weird without Merlin in there. It's too empty," Adrielle offered.

"Thank you, Adrielle," Gwen replied with a soft smile. Adrielle returned the smile before starting back up the stairs to her room, listening carefully for Gwens footsteps behind her. As soon as Adrielle was in her room she set the vial on the table before ripping open the floorboard where the magic book was hidden. Beacon perked his ears up as he watched from her bed. Adrielle flipped up her pillow and slammed the book down under it, hiding it just as Gwen entered the room. Beacon barked happily at the new friend in the room, but proceeded to lie his headed back down on his paws.

"I didn't know you had a dog," Gwen said slightly shocked.

"We've had him for a couple weeks now. I found him wandering out in the woods one day when I was hunting herbs for Gaius. There was no one else around so I figured he had no owner," Adrielle lied. Part of her deal for keeping Beacon was having a good and believable cover story for 'turning a stone dog into a real dog'. "He might look vicious but his bark is worse than his bite, and even that's not threatening. Beacon is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet."

"Strange, he looks just like the dog statues in the courtyard," Gwen remarked while approaching Beacon. She scratched behind his ear, causing the dog to wag his tail happily, creating a loud thumping sound to echo through the room.

"I know, weird isn't it," Adrielle said while keeping her eyes on the pillow where the magic book hid.

"So that's Merlin's bed, I take it?" Gwen asked nodding towards the other bed.

"Yes it is. It's weird, seeing it empty. It just doesn't feel right," Adrielle commented.

"It'll be okay, Adrielle. If any one can save Merlin its Arthur," Gwen said while placing a comforting hand on her friends shoulder.

"Everyone keeps telling me that, but it doesn't help me feel any better," Adrielle frowned with a sigh. "Anyway, make yourself at home. My house is your house."

Gwen smiled and offered a quick thank you for Adrielle's hospitality. Gwen took off her apron and draped it over the edge of the bed before crawling in.

"Goodnight, Adrielle," Gwen said before settling in.

"Goodnight, Gwen," Adrielle called before crawling into bed herself. Beacon stood up and walked down the bed and settled back in by Adrielle's feet. Adrielle pulled the book out from under her pillow and sat it in her lap. She browsed through the pages quietly, paranoid that the slightest noise would wake Gwen.

When Gwen's breathing had slowed and evened out, Adrielle realized she must finally be asleep. Adrielle placed her finger on the page and skimmed until she found the spell she was looking for.

_"_ _**To Enhance a Potions Effects"** _

Adrielle grabbed the vial of sleeping draft and leaned over the book closer. She took a deep breath and concentrated on the words printed in front of her.

"Sythan," she whispered, still paranoid of waking Gwen at any moment. As she looked down at her vial she noticed no change. Over the years she had come to recognize when ever her magic had taken effect. The air around her felt different, almost charged with electricity, and she's could swear she saw the world painted in gold as her iris's changed colours for the brief moment. She felt disappointed when she hadn't felt any of that.

Adrielle wrapped her other hand around the one that held the small vial. She rolled her shoulders back and sat up a bit straighter. She inhaled, taking in a deeper breath than before, making sure never bone and muscle in her body was getting enough oxygen. She closed her eyes and concentrated hard on what she wanted to accomplish. As she breathed out she let the words of the incantation slip out as a barely audible whisper.

" _Sythan._ "

Adrielle opened her eyes and looked down at the vial when she felt it begin to heat up in her hands. The potion was bubbling slightly before settling back down. She smiled to herself, sure that her spell had worked. She knocked back the potion in one gulp before creeping up and out of bed to place to book back in its hiding place. As she crawled back into bed, Adrielle swore she could feel the enhanced potion starting to take its effect. Her eyelids felt heavier than she could ever remember them being. Her blanket felt so warm as she pulled it over her and her pillow felt like a cloud as she laid her head down. The last thing Adrielle remembered before falling asleep was Beacon's warm body against her legs.


End file.
